Summer Into Fall
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: As the Summer break comes to its end, and the Megaforce team face the challenge of senior year, they also have to face new challenges and new beginnings. Of course as some things begin...
1. Chapter 1

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

**Rating:** T – May be some mild adult themes.

Emma and Gia got back to the Goodall place after a day of training. They were both exhausted afterwards, not least because training in the woods meant that they also had a long walk home. Gia threw her bag just in the door as she arrived.

"God, I could soak in the tub for a month!" She groaned. "I'm used to working hard, but that boyfriend of yours is a real drill sergeant. How are you not ready to pass out?"

"I guess hanging out with him has given me a lot more energy." Emma answered with a shrug. "He has incredible stamina. It's a real workout just keeping up with him."

Just then, there was a little cough as Eric let them know he was there. Emma looked a little nervous at first, like she regretted what she had said, realising that it could have been taken the wrong way, but she quickly seemed to get over it. If anything, her face took on a distinctly cold expression.

"Dinner's on the table." Eric told them. "And no, I didn't cook. Gia, your mother's here. She made her famous venison stew."

Emma and Gia looked at each other hearing this. They still hadn't had a chance to talk to Eric and Louise about what they had seen the day before. It wasn't a subject they were in a hurry to bring up. It was a little awkward for them both in a number of ways.

"Um...actually we...uh..." Emma started to stammer.

"We...had that thing to do...at the place...with the guys..."

"You spent all day with the guys." Eric put down flatly, pointing in towards the dining room. "I'm sure you can be spared long enough to have dinner."

"Eric..."

"Don't make me tell you." Eric interrupted Gia, gesturing inside again. Emma and Gia just sighed and headed inside, finding Louise finishing up setting the table.

"Hi girls." Louise greeted them a little nervously. "Did you have a good time with the guys?"

"It was pretty good." Gia replied. "School goes back soon, so we're just enjoying what little time we have left."

"I remember it was just the same back in ou...er...my day." Louise replied. "Please, take a seat, pour yourselves a drink. I'll bring the dinner through in a minute."

As Louise left, Gia and Emma sat down. Gia just looked to Emma.

"I think we just passed the exit for awkward." Gia commented. Emma just shrugged, but didn't say anything. As Eric came in, sitting down with them, they all just sat wordlessly for a moment, until Louise came in with the stew. Setting the plates down, she took her seat.

"So...senior year huh?" She began. "Are you looking forward to it?"

"I guess." Gia replied. Emma just shrugged. Eric looked around the table, before setting down his cutlery.

"Alright, let's just get rid of the elephant in the room." Eric stated. "You know what you saw last night, and I...we...thought that maybe it would be best if we all talked about it...as adults."

"What is there to explain?" Gia asked. "We're 17, we're not stupid, we know what we saw..."

"Gia, this isn't something that we're rushing into." Louise assured her. "I know it all seems rather sudden, but this is something we've been feeling for a long time."

"Mom, you're still divorcing dad." Gia stated.

"Uh...actually the divorce came through yesterday." She said to Gia, looking a little sheepish. "I came around to tell you, but with everything else..."

"Mom, dad's a lunatic, I get that!" Gia told her. "I know he lost it, hell he kept me chained to a radiator and tried to brainwash me into being straight! I understand you not wanting to have anything to do with him..."

"Gia, let's be honest about this, you've known as well as I have your father and I haven't been working out for a long time." Louise told her. "We tried...ok, I tried to make it work, but you know that we haven't been right together for years."

She took Eric's hand, looking to him for support.

"You know that Gerald, Eric and I have been friends since High School." Louise continued. "Eric and I...we've cared for each other for a long time, recently though, we just figured out what we have."

"Gia, I really care about your mother." Eric assured her. "Look, I know all of this has to be strange. It was for us too."

"So...this isn't a sudden thing?" Gia asked. Eric and Louise just shook their heads.

"It just took us a while to figure it out." Eric told her. "We're really sorry you had to find out like this."

"Gia, we're not saying where this is going. We really don't know ourselves." Louise told her daughter. "Just know that we're not rushing into anything."

"The most important thing to us is you girls." Eric added. "We both agreed, if this is too difficult..."

"I think I just lost my appetite." Emma stated, pushing herself out from the table. She got up and started to head for the door.

"Emma?" Eric asked as he saw her. "Emma, we need to talk about this..."

"No, we really don't." Emma put down flatly. "It sounds like you've made all the decisions already, so there's really nothing else to say."

"Emma, come and sit down." Louise invited her. "Please, I'd like it..."

"Yeah, well we don't always get everything we'd like do we?" Emma asked her coldly.

"Emma, get back here!" Eric called out. "Louise worked very hard on..."

"I'm not hungry!" She yelled back, slamming the door as she left. Gia just looked to Eric and Louise.

"I'll put this away." Louise sighed, seeing the look on Emma's face. She just waved her off. "You should go after her."

With that, Gia just got up and left the table, heading after Emma. Eric just looked to Louise.

"I'm sorry." He told her. "That was completely..."

"It's alright." Louise assured him.

"But..."

"Eric, we both knew that this wasn't going to be easy." Louise told him.

"No point in letting all of this go to waste I guess." Eric replied. "If I remember rightly, your venison was always amazing."

"Eric, I was thinking." Louise started to say nervously. "Maybe..."

"Just...don't say it." Eric told her. "We can try again when they're ready. Just...let's eat. It's getting cold."

With that, they both started eating, realising that there was nothing they could do right now. Not until the girls were ready to talk.

Elsewhere in the city, Noah, Jordan and Troy were in the Brainfreeze when Noah came in. He saw the others and came over, sitting with them as the others were laughing at something Jake said.

"Guys, I'm serious, how perfect is it as a nickname? Jake the Snake!" He said, looking to them with a huge smile on his face. "I mean...think about it, I slip through the defence on the soccer field, I'm fast, I'm agile...and my Ranger animal is a snake!"

"Jake, you do know that Jake the Snake is a wrestler right?" Jordan chuckled.

"Even I know that." Troy stated. "Jake the Snake Roberts?"

"That's just another thing that makes it cool." Jake stated.

"You are aware that Jake the Snake is an alcoholic and drug addict right?" Noah asked him as he sat down. "He was fired by pretty much every company he worked for."

"Well, I still think it sounds cool." Jake replied defensively. "Just because you can't come up with a cool nickname..."

"Yeah, I'm sure it must be really taxing to think of something humorous to say about a guy named Noah that works in a wildlife park." Noah answered sarcastically.

"Speaking of which, the others were getting me caught up on what I've missed." Jordan said with a knowing smirk. "From what I heard, the animals aren't the only ones going in two by two."

"A bit obvious, but we'll let it slide." Troy stated, patting Jordan on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Noah asked.

"Please, we all saw that little skip in your step." Jordan stated. "Apparently you went on a date with a certain co-worker last night."

"Yeah, to the dinosaur exhibit." Jake added, looking at Noah expectantly. "So...how did it go?"

"Pretty well, the exhibit was great." Noah told them. "I had a good time."

"AAAAANNND?" The others all asked, looking to Noah expectantly. He just looked a little sheepish.

"Alright, I had a great time. Quinn's really cool." Noah responded impatiently. "I took her home and..."

"And what?" Jake asked.

"And nothing." Noah told him. "Look, she's a great person, really smart and funny, I had a great time with her."

"Really?" Troy asked, nudging Noah slightly. "So, when's the next date?"

"I don't know if there's going to be one." Noah replied. "I mean, she's great and everything...sure it would be great to hang out with her again."

"So...here's a novel idea." Jordan suggested. "You say Quinn, would you like to hang out some time?"

"I did." Noah protested. "She said she'd like that, but we haven't made any plans." Noah told them. "Besides, we're...we're kind of friends. Why would I screw that up by expecting anything more?"

Jordan just looked to the others.

"He's kidding right?" Jordan asked him. Jake and Troy just shook their heads. "Dude, she's totally into you! Ask her out! She'll say yes, I'm sure of it!"

"You think so?" Noah asked. Jordan just rolled his eyes and looked around, grabbing a random kid who was buying ice cream.

"You're in our year at Harwood County High right?" He asked.

"Yeah." The kid answered.

"So you know who this guy is right?" Jordan asked. The kid just shrugged.

"Yeah, Noah Carver, the kid who always wins all the science prizes." He answered. Jordan just gestured him in closer.

"If I was to ask you who's into him, what would you say?" He asked.

"Quinn." He answered with an expression on his face like Jordan had asked him if grass was generally green. "You know, the weird animal girl with the glasses?"

"Yeah, thanks for your time." Jordan replied, gesturing that he could leave. The guy just walked away, thoroughly confused.

"So...you guys think she'd say yes?" Noah asked them.

"Do I need to harass another innocent bystander?" Jordan asked him. "Dude, there are tribes in the rainforest that have never had contact with the outside world that know she's totally into you."

"But...she's never said or done anything..." Noah just paused as he thought about something. He suddenly thought about something that Cole had said to him earlier. "I am...I am such a tool."

"I could have told you that." Jake chuckled, playing with his milkshake.

"So...everyone knew about this but me?" Noah asked. Troy just nodded.

"Pretty much." He answered. Noah just allowed himself a little smile.

"Wow, I...I don't know what to say." Noah answered. "What do I do?"

"Like I said, you might start with, you know...asking her out again?" Jordan stated. Just then, Gia came in, looking around. Seeing Troy, she came across, looking to him.

"Hey, I thought you went..."

"Have any of you seen Emma?" Gia asked.

"Um...not since training earlier." Troy replied. "Why, what happened?"

"She...um..." Gia didn't know how to explain without going over the situation with their parents. "She got a bit of a shock when she got home and ran off."

"That doesn't sound like her." Troy said, looking concerned as he dialled his cell phone. He only got her voice mail. "She's not answering. I'll head into the bathroom and try the morpher. She wouldn't ignore that."

As he headed away from the table, Cat came over to the table.

"Gia..."

"Cat, have you seen Emma?" She asked. Cat just shook her head.

"Not since earlier when you all headed out to train." She told Gia. Just then, Troy came back, putting his morpher away in his bag.

"She answered, I know where she is." Troy told them. "I'll go after her."

"I should..."

"Gia, just...let me do this." Troy interrupted her as he gathered his things. "I'll catch the rest of you tomorrow. Remember Noah, we know your schedule, so no excuses for skipping training."

"We have tryouts for the soccer team tomorrow." Jake reminded him, gesturing to himself and Jordan. "We'll be there though."

"Speaking of which, we should probably get an early night." Jordan stated, getting up from the table. "Come on Jake the Snake. If you want to be striker again this season, I suggest you do the same."

"Let us know about Emma alright?" Jake asked as he gathered his stuff. He, Troy and Jordan left shortly afterwards.

"Sorry, I um...I have a lot of ironing to do." Noah told Gia. "I have to make a good impression, and for some reason all my clothes are messed up."

As he left, Cat just looked to Gia.

"It's a long story." Gia told her. "I should probably..."

"Gia, can I talk to you for a minute?" Cat asked her. Gia just nodded and went with her into the back. Cat got there, and looked at Gia a little nervously for a moment. Eventually, she pulled an envelope out of her pocket.

"This came for me in the lunchtime post." Cat told her. "My brother dropped it off earlier."

"OK?" Gia asked, taking the letter from her. She started to read it, seeing that it was a very official looking letter, on headed paper.

"Last year I applied to the Los Angeles School of the Arts for their senior year programme." She told her. "I've...I've been accepted."

"Cat, that's...that's amazing!" Gia yelled excitedly, hugging Cat tightly. "I know you always wanted to get more serious with your art studies! This looks amazing!"

"Gia..."

"And...this is a full-ride scholarship!" Gia stated, reading further. "Cat, this is amazing, you have to..."

"Gia..."

"I know it'll suck that we'll go to different schools, but this is an opportunity you can't pass up." Gia told her. "It says here that about 90 percent of their alumni go on to university!"

"Gia...that's not all it says." Cat told her. "Look at the address."

Gia read the address, and her face fell. She felt her chest tighten.

"Hollywood?" Gia stated. "Los Angeles?"

"Gia..."

"Cat, that school's almost the opposite end of the state!" Gia protested. "Where'll you live...?"

"My brother's already sorted out a transfer with his firm." Cat told her. "He...he said that it's for the best. I'll get to a good school, we'll both have more money, I'll...I'll be in a city where we won't get attacked by monsters every other day..."

"So...you're really going?" Gia asked her, gulping as she tried to take in everything Cat was telling her. "When are you leaving?"

"We go at the end of the week." Cat informed her, reaching out for Gia, only to have her swipe her hand away. Gia glared at her angrily.

"So that's it? You're just telling me that you're leaving?" Gia yelled at her. "It sounds like your mind's already made up. So is this just the courtesy of letting me know you're leaving me?"

"Gia, it isn't like that." Cat told her. "This is an amazing opportunity, one I can't afford to turn down. I might never get another offer like this."

"So, all that crap we went through? All those kids who called us names and said stuff about us on the internet? The girls who beat you up? All of that was too much hassle for you?" Gia snapped at her.

"Gia, I'd never have done any of that if it wasn't for you." Cat told her, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I love you, I don't want to leave you but this is something I can't turn down. Please, try to be happy for me!"

"After everything we've been through, you just want to pack up and leave?" Gia asked her. "Don't you think there are times I wanted to just grab all my shit and get the hell out of town? Of course there were, but I didn't, I can't! I can't because I won't just let anyone else rule my life for me!"

"Gia, please..."

"As soon as things start to get real, you get scared and run away." Gia screamed at her, thrusting the letter back into Cat's chest. "You're a coward Cat! Just...have a nice life."

With that, she stormed out of the kitchen, unable to hold her tears in any longer. As she was going, she brushed past Ernie, who could see she was upset. Unable to go after her, he went into the back.

"Cat, what happened...?" He asked. He saw Cat leaning against the wall, breaking down in tears. He just made his way over, grabbing her in a warm hug, and held her tightly as she wept into his shoulder.

Elsewhere, Troy made his way into the woods, looking for Emma. He hadn't really managed to reach her, but he didn't want the others to worry unless there was a reason. He had been with Emma for a couple of months now, and he was starting to learn a fair bit about her and what made her tick. He knew if she wasn't with Gia, or at the Brainfreeze, and if there weren't any protests, there was one other place he wanted to try first.

He found her sitting at the foot of a tree, completely oblivious to his presence. He was grateful that it was him that found her. In this state, she didn't notice until he was right next to her. She just looked up, seeing him there.

"Gia said you ran off." Troy told her. "It's not like you."

"I have a lot on my mind." Emma told him.

"Well, it's a nice enough place to think I guess." Troy stated, patting the tree. "Not to mention the company you're keeping."

Troy knew that Emma liked to come out here whenever something was really troubling her. She had brought him to this spot a couple of times, the first one completely by chance, back before they faced Dizchord. It was the tree that Emma and her father had scattered her mother's ashes.

"Did Gia tell you what happened?" Emma asked him. Troy just shook his head. Emma took his hand, letting him help her up. "We found her mom and my dad in the Living Room."

"OK?" Troy asked, not quite getting where she was going with this. As Emma just looked at him, the penny finally dropped. "Oh, right."

"They wanted to have a whole sit down discussion about it." Emma told him, holding her arms around herself for comfort as she looked to the tree. "I...I just didn't want to hear it."

"Do you think this will change anything?" Troy asked her.

"I don't know." Emma muttered. "I don't know what to feel."

"Well, what about what your dad feels?" Troy asked her. "Or Mrs Moran?"

"How long could it really have been going on? She only just got her divorce through." Emma told him. "There were all those rumours in the papers a while back, and dad always maintained they weren't true. He told us that they weren't having an affair."

"Do you think he was lying?" Troy asked her.

"I don't know, I just...I don't know." She insisted. "And Louise...I've known her since I was a baby. She and mom were best friends. Now, she's with my dad? It kind of feels like...like they're cheating on her."

"I'm sure this is confusing for her too." Troy told her. Emma just looked at him.

"Can you please not try and explain this?" She asked him. "I think for now, I just have to be angry with them."

"Of course." Troy told her, holding her tightly. "Take all the time you need."


	2. Operation Knightfall

Gia was the first to arrive back. As she closed the door behind her and hung up her jacket, she just stood, resting against the wall as she tried to wrap her mind around everything that had happened that night. It had begun with what was easily the most awkward conversation she could remember in a long time, hearing Eric and her mom trying to talk about...well...it had been too much for Emma to hear, and if she was honest, Gia still wasn't sure how she felt about it. It was only Troy saying he'd go after Emma that had brought her search to a standstill. As if her night wasn't bad enough, that was when Cat had to go and make it worse.

She still couldn't believe what she had told her. Cat had made her interest in Gia very clear early on. It had taken a while for Gia to come around, she still had some baggage to begin with over how she had felt about Emma, but in the end, she had seen Cat as the amazing, funny, creative, and surprisingly deep, if slightly random person she really was. With the exception of this, she couldn't remember a time she had thought about Cat, and been unable to smile. It had taken a lot out of Gia to come back after she was outed on the Harwood Social Hub; it had been a different level altogether to actually have a relationship openly with someone, the first in her life. Now though, after all that, after all the heartache and the fighting, all the hurtful comments she had weathered, and even taking on a girl that had thought Cat was a fair target when she came out, Cat had told her that now, all of that was for nothing. Just when they were getting ready to come back to school for their final, and most difficult year, Cat had told her she was packing up and leaving town. She was leaving her.

Gia couldn't help thinking about the fact that she would soon be losing the girl she loved so much. She was hurt that after all that Cat would be able to just leave with barely a word. One week, that was all she had left, one week and her girlfriend would be moving to the opposite end of the state. She was devastated that Cat would leave her, she was angry that after all the fighting they had done to be together, that she would take the easy way out and run away when she knew that Gia couldn't leave with her. As her tears began again, she didn't notice Eric coming into the hall.

"Your mom has gone back to the motel." He informed her. As he said this, he was a little put out himself. He was trying, he really had tried to explain to the girls what was going on, to gauge their reaction, and give them a chance to come to terms with it, or to voice their thoughts on the relationship. "Where's Emma?"

"I don't know." Gia answered honestly, starting to wipe away her tears. "Troy told me he knew where she was. She'll be with him."

"Gia, I know this is difficult..."

"You know what? I really don't care." Gia answered as she turned to face him. It was only then that Eric noticed the red streaks down her face. "If you and mom want to make out, go ahead, knock yourselves out. I really don't care."

"Gia..."

"I'm going to bed." She told him.

"Gia, what's..." She wasn't listening though, as she stormed up the stairs, heading into her room and slamming the door shut behind her. "...Wrong?"

He turned back towards the door as it opened again. This time, it was Emma and Troy. Emma just brushed past her dad, heading upstairs. Eric looked to Troy.

"I take it you know." Eric stated as Troy stood, watching Emma head to her room.

"She told me what happened." Troy answered.

"Troy..."

"You don't have anything to explain to me." Troy interrupted him gently as he held up a hand. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both adults, and you're both single, so what you do with each other is really none of my business. It's not for me to judge."

"I appreciate that." Eric replied, wishing that the issue was as simple for him as it was for Troy. "So, how about Emma, what are her feelings on this?"

"I...I really don't think that's my place to say either." Troy said rather awkwardly. Although he and Emma had talked for a while about her feelings over the relationship, he really didn't want to risk getting between Emma and her dad and seem like he was taking sides. Although Eric seemed to be alright with Troy and Emma dating, he was still protective, and Troy didn't want to push his luck. He'd made it clear from the early going that he was happy to stick within the boundaries Mr Goodall had deemed appropriate for as long as he thought was necessary to keep him comfortable. "All I can say is you might want to give her a while."

"Would you like a ride home?" Eric asked him. Troy shook his head.

"Its fine, it isn't far." Troy reminded him. "Besides, my workout gear's been in my bag all day. I think you'd appreciate me not bringing it into your car."

"That's probably a good idea." Eric answered. "Thank you for bringing her home safely."

Troy just turned and left, at which Eric closed the door behind him. He dialled his cell phone.

"Louise, it's me." He began. "I'm just calling to say they're both home safe, just like I said I would."

He just sighed as he heard her response.

"It's OK, I'll be here." He assured her. "Yeah, I agree, maybe for the time being it would be for the best...OK, I understand."

As he hung up the phone, he just made his way upstairs to go to bed himself. He doubted it would get him anywhere to press matters any further tonight. It was clear both of the girls were upset, but he didn't know they would be this upset about it. As much as he didn't want to think about it, he and Louise had already discussed their options, and the one thing they had both agreed on was that the girls' happiness came first. Ultimately, if the girls couldn't accept it, they were already prepared to call time on their relationship, no matter how much it hurt. Nothing was more important than Emma and Gia to them.

The next day, Jordan was awake early, and was in the basement gym of his house, thrashing through some exercises. Although he knew that they were meeting up in the park later for a workout, he was still pointedly aware that he, more than any of the other Rangers, he had the most work to do to alter public opinion. The Rangers, for the most part, had most of the city as their fans again. Toyshops sold out their merchandise by the truckload, with action figures outselling any other toy, in some cases, as much as five or even ten to one. Just about every fast food chain had some kind of Ranger themed promotion on, many with accompanying toys of varying quality. Newspapers and magazines knew that a decent picture of a Ranger pretty much guaranteed selling out four or five printing runs. There were still some that asked if their actions could be trusted, but for the main part, the Rangers were who everyone in town worshipped and wanted to be.

The Robo Knight though, had done a lot more to the city that had earned him a lot of haters. The Edward Teach oil spill still rendered the harbour a no-go area, that was constantly advertising for volunteers to help with the cleanup, a venture which everyone knew would still take many years to be complete, and even longer for the local wildlife to recover from. The locations where he had been in battle had suffered extensive, and sometimes extremely expensive damage. A few people credited the Robo Knight with effectively destroying their businesses and livelihoods. Hospital admissions among children trying to copy what they saw the team do had skyrocketed, and even though that had happened long before the Robo Knight had put in an appearance, many still used it in the same breath as the Robo Knight's trail of destruction.

"You still dip your shoulder when you lead with the left." He heard someone say. He groaned and turned around, finding his dad coming down the stairs.

He hadn't heard him come in, and he certainly hadn't expected him to come home. His dad was a general in the military, and involved in a lot of projects that he didn't talk about at home. Jordan knew that a lot of what he would be privy to was probably subject to National Security laws, and he wouldn't be able to talk about. Not being the most talkative person, a lot of things he didn't talk about because he just didn't want to share. If he was truthful, a lot of other things he didn't talk about either because he was hardly ever around, and when he was, Jordan was not interested enough to ask.

General Edwards was a tall man, taller even than Jordan, and despite his age, he had a powerful build. He and his wife had Jordan relatively late in life, meaning that he was already well into is fifties, though only his thick, white hair, with its matching, styled moustache and beard gave away the fact he wasn't younger. He was wearing a dress uniform, which displayed an impressive collection of medals and awards, along with the markings of his rank. Jordan again never asked what most of the medals were for. He recognised them, but most of the time, his father didn't tell him what they were for, and for the rest, Jordan didn't ask. He set his hat and some folders down on a bench.

"That's how you say hello?" Jordan asked him. "After months of being away, that's how you say hello?"

General Edwards didn't respond to this, instead making his way over to the heavy bag.

"I keep telling you, keep your shoulder up when you throw the punch." He told him, hitting the bag to demonstrate. "Otherwise, you're just asking for a fist straight to the face."

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Jordan asked him. His father just turned to face him.

"I believe this is my home isn't it?" He asked.

"I was beginning to wonder, you've barely been here more than a few weeks total since we moved here." Jordan replied.

"If you must know, I've taken on a new assignment." He informed him. "I'm heading up a task force, orders direct from the Department of Defence. I volunteered naturally..."

"Of course you did." Jordan groaned. "OK, we can catch up later, and you can tell me how much my technique sucks, but right now, I've got somewhere to be. The coach has us trying out for the soccer team this morning, then I'm meeting with some friends in the park to train."

"Well, how about you invite them round?" He asked Jordan. "I'd like to meet them. It's not like you ever tell me about your friends. I can fire up the barbecue."

"Whatever." Jordan replied as he got his bag together. "I'll see you later."

With that, he left the house. General Edwards just gathered up his folders, and headed upstairs for his study.

At the school, there was a surprising number of people milling around. Other sports teams had all but filled up, but in Harwood, the soccer team was the team to be on. Despite it not being the most popular sport in the country, it certainly was in Harwood.

The field was filled with students, all hoping to earn a shot at the team. The league allowed each school a roster of twenty players, meaning eleven starters and nine substitutes. For every spot, there were at least five competitors. There were even six applicants for the position of goalie, normally the least popular position to play; such was the competition for a spot on the team. There were also a huge number of other students hanging around for moral support, or just to see who would be on the team, filling the stands.

Jake had been on the team now all three years he had been at the school. The coach had a policy, designed to encourage players not to rest on their laurels, that there was no such thing as guaranteed spots. Being on the team the previous year did not guarantee that he would be allowed back onto the team the following year, and he would have to try out just like everyone else. More than one player had found to their cost the folly of assuming they would get back on the team and slacking off over the summer. That was never a danger for Jake though, such was his obsession with the game, no one could stop him playing!

The coach was expected to be even more demanding than usual, and in a foul mood. Jake's school had missed out on the cup last year, despite having arguably the strongest team in the league. They had messed up some key games that should have been decisive wins, and disciplinary issues meant that some of their key players missed games that were crucial. In short, the coach was in a foul mood, and had already promised the team loudly, and with a lot of colourful language, that he was going to accept nothing short of regaining the cup for the first time in three years.

Tryout day had a certain excitement about it too. With seniors graduating and leaving for college or jobs, the field was wide open to new, young players hoping to emulate the students they had idolised the previous year. Jake was on the sidelines, warming up as he looked around for Jordan. He was grateful as he saw his team mate turning up, running onto the field.

"Glad you could join us Edwards." The coach stated sarcastically.

"Sorry coach." Jordan replied apologetically. "My dad showed up unexpectedly..."

"I really don't give a rat's ass about your family Edwards, nine AM practice means I expect you here in full kit at nine AM, not whenever you damn well please!" The coach snapped at him. "Let's just hope those extra four minutes you took have you rested up for your try out."

"What put a bug up his ass?" Jordan asked Jake.

"Just a small matter of a three nil loss to the league doormats last season putting us out of the playoffs." Jake informed him. As Jordan looked to him, Jake just shrugged. "What? I had a groin strain that day; I didn't lose them the match."

"Yeah, I'm just glad I'm not having to pretend I'm a goalie anymore." Jordan responded. "I'm a left midfielder, and that's where I'm happiest."

"So your dad's in town?" He asked. Jordan just nodded.

"It was a surprise to me too." Jordan answered. "He wants to meet you all, wanted me to invite you all round for a barbecue."

"That sounds good." Jake stated. Jordan shook his head.

"Trust me; you don't want any part of the General." Jordan assured him. He then smiled. "Well, it looks like your favourite cheerleader's here."

Jake looked at where Jordan was pointing, seeing Allison sitting in the front row, near the aisle. Jake smiled.

"Holling, Edwards, get your asses on the field!" The coach called out. "Alright, time to see if any of you are anything other than a bunch of useless sacks of crap! Hope you're ready for hell!"

With that, Jordan and Jake headed out onto the field, preparing to compete for their chance to represent the school in their final year.

Elsewhere, back at the Edwards house, General Edwards had gone into his study, where he set his folders down, and started up his computer. He dialled his cell phone, attaching the Bluetooth set to his ear and waited for an answer.

"How was your flight General?" The voice on the other end began.

"The food was terrible." He replied as he sat at his desk, waiting for the computer to finish its startup sequence. The study was the only room in the house that Jordan was never allowed into, and with him being away so much, often the computer would go unused for months. What that meant was that when he DID finally switch it on, it often had months of automatic updates to download at once.

"I thought you'd be happier to be home." The voice stated.

"It's the reason I volunteered for the task force." General Edwards told him.

"Well, as much as you get to see your boy, do remember that this isn't a social visit. You have a job to do." The voice stated. As the computer sprang into life, General Edwards accessed the secure network to download his files.

"Don't worry sir; I know how important this is." General Edwards stated as he opened up a folder marked as confidential. After entering his security code again, the file opened. General Edwards found himself looking at an image of the Robo Knight, underneath the title "Operation Knightfall." "I'm ready and eager to get started. Just tell me when the rest of the team gets here."


	3. The Team Tryouts

Emma and Gia made their way towards the Brainfreeze very quietly the following day. Neither of them was in a particularly great mood following what had to be one of the worst days of the summer. As they got there, they found Troy already there with his laptop, working hard on something.

Emma managed to crack a smile as she saw her boyfriend, coming over to the table. She didn't really feel like smiling much, not given the drama at home. She still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the whole situation, all she really knew that right now, the last thing she was up to facing was talking about it with her father. She sat down with Troy, at which he closed over his laptop.

"Hey." He greeted her, moving up a little in the booth, knowing that Gia would be joining them shortly once she had gotten their order. He doubted they would have particularly long to wait, one benefit of Gia's girlfriend working on the counter was that they often got certain queue jumping privileges. It wasn't exactly something they encouraged, but then again, it wasn't something they objected to either, especially when it was busy. "Are you feeling any better this morning?"

"A little bit." Emma told him. "Thanks for last night."

"Hey, what are boyfriends for?" He asked her. "So, have you figured out...?"

"Can we just talk about something else please?" Emma asked him. "What are you working on?"

"I was working on some ideas for training." Troy told her. "The monsters we've been facing just seem to get stronger all the time. I figured it was time to start structuring the training schedules a bit more. I've been messaging Lauren and Kevin for suggestions. Jayden's been suggesting ideas when he has time; his wedding arrangements are keeping him pretty busy."

"So, let's see this new schedule then." She said, moving a little closer.

"Really?" He asked her.

"Trust me, my brain's overloading with everything else." She assured him. "I'd love to have some kind of distraction."

At that point though, Gia was over at the counter. He was waiting in the queue, something she had grown a little less accustomed to since Cat had started working at the Brainfreeze. She figured that she could pretty much kiss her queue jumping privileges goodbye after the way she blew up at Cat the previous day. It wasn't like she was going to keep them long, once Cat turned tail and ran away anyway, but she found it a little unusual after all this time having to wait in line.

As she got to the front of the queue, Ernie was waiting. Gia just checked the menu board.

"Emma and Troy will have the usual." Gia began. "I'll take a large white coffee."

She looked around as Ernie started to wordlessly look around the restaurant.

"It's quiet in here today." She commented. "I'm guessing a lot of kids are at the soccer tryouts."

"It's just as well." Ernie told her a little abruptly. "I am working by myself after all."

"You are?" Gia asked him. "Has Cat gone already?"

"She decided she didn't want to come in for the rest of her shifts, and given what happened I can't say I blame her." Ernie answered, looking at Gia a little judgementally. "That will be seven dollars fifty."

"I guess it figures she'd run out." Gia grumbled. "She's kind of good at that."

"Is this really how you feel?" He asked her, looking a little annoyed.

"Um...with all due respect Ernie, I really don't think this is any of..."

"When friends of mine are getting hurt, I make it my business." Ernie interrupted her. "You should not have spoken to Cat the way you did."

"Hey, I'm not the one running out." She insisted.

"Neither is she." Ernie told her bluntly. "You saw that letter; you know this is an amazing opportunity for her."

"Yeah, an opportunity to leave town." Gia responded angrily. "Things are getting difficult so she takes the first ticket out of town? I thought I meant something to her!"

"Don't you think this was a difficult decision for her as well?" Ernie asked in response.

"I love her!" Gia declared. "Now, after all of this, she's just bailing on me?"

"You forget, I know all about what it is like to love." Ernie told her. "If I'd had the opportunity to have my wife and daughter leave my homeland, I would have taken it!"

"Even if it meant..."

"Even if it meant I remained to complete my duty without them by my side!" Ernie told her. "Sacrifice is a part of love. We wish the best for those we care about, even if it means that we must postpone our own happiness for that to happen."

He placed the drinks down on the counter in front of Gia as he finished preparing them. Gia just looked to the counter, unable to look Ernie in the eyes.

"You claim to love her, and yet when she has the opportunity to do something that could give her an amazing life, and keep her safe from harm, you think only of yourself. I am sorry to say that I am ashamed of you. I expected more from you."

"But...what if..." She started to ask him. She took a deep gulp, before forcing out the words. "She'll be so far away. What if she finds someone else?"

"That is something I am afraid you will have to risk." Ernie told her. "If a relationship is strong, and it truly is the real thing, it will endure."

He reached across, seeing that she was upset by what she had heard. He just took away the coffee.

"I just...I'm really going to miss her. I know I'll miss her like crazy." Gia admitted. "Sure, she'll be safe, but...she won't be here, where I can be with her."

"Just remember, not all of us have the benefit of protective spandex." He reminded her. "The way I see it, you can spend your time here feeling sorry for yourself, and let Cat go to Los Angeles believing things are over, or...you can spend what little time you have together."

"Thanks Ernie." Gia replied as he transferred the coffee into a take-away cup. As he did, she paused for a moment, as she realised what he had said. "Wait...did you just say...?"

"You and your friends know how dangerous this city can be." Ernie told her with a smile. "I'm sure you will agree that if you had the choice, none of the people you care about would be in the firing line. You know she will be safe and she will be happy there."

"Well, I guess now I know why we get so many comps and discounts here." She answered with a little smile as she leaned across the counter, kissing Ernie on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He answered as she took the drinks from the counter and heading over to where Emma and Troy were discussing Troy's training plans.

"I've got something I need to take care of." Gia told them, handing them their drinks. "I'll be in the park later for training."

"OK, no problem." Troy told her. "We'll see you there."

With that, Gia left the Brainfreeze, with Ernie's words still in her mind. She could only hope that she wasn't too late to mend the damage she had done.

Back at the High School, the selection process was well underway. Jake and Jordan were on the field for five asides. The coach didn't just have to see how each of the players were individually; he had to see how they worked out in action with other players. Jake was near the upper part of the pitch, ready for his opportunity. He watched as Jordan got the ball. He had a couple of other players near him, moving in to get the ball.

"Come on Jordan!" Jake called out encouragement as he started to track him. He knew that Jordan's job as an attacking midfielder was to set up the play, to get the ball into position for him to take a shot, or, if Jake wasn't there, to take a shot himself. It was Jake's job to track him if he broke away and get into position for him.

The other players started to crowd Jordan, coming in to take the ball, but it was no easy task. Much like his fighting style, Jordan's style on the pitch was very rugged. He was strong and quick, so he was capable of powering through attempts to tackle where others would just avoid trouble. As one player came for him, hoping to barge him off the ball and take it, Jordan kept him at bay with an arm across the chest.

He managed to avoid another player, even when an arm coming a little too high ended up in his face; he shrugged it off and kept going, ignoring the illegal tackle. Spinning away from them, he looked around, finding himself with a very narrow window of opportunity, and kicked the ball for some open ground. Jake was off like a shot, using all his speed to run up and slam a hard kick into the ball, sending it screaming towards the goalie. He only barely managed to get a hand to it, having to swat it away instead of being able to catch it in his dive.

This was where Jake excelled. On the pitch, he seemed to have an unnatural ability to just know where the ball would end up. He turned around as the ball came towards him, and throwing himself backwards, hit a bicycle kick into the open net before the goalie could recover to be able to dive for it. Jordan and the others ran over to Jake, helping him up.

"I don't know how you do it, but I love it." Jordan complimented him. "How is it you dance like an epileptic jellyfish, but you seem to turn into Neo when you're playing soccer?"

"It's a gift I guess." Jake answered with a smile.

"Alright, bring it in!" The coach called out to the team. "Well, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, not all of you are completely useless. In fact, if I take a little time, I might find 20 of you who know a soccer ball from your own ass."

"This is the motivational speech." Jake informed Jordan. He had arrived too late in the last year to have a spot on the team, so he had only trained with the team to get him ready for senior year. He wasn't used to the coach or his charming demeanour.

"Believe me; compared to the General, this is like sunshine and rainbows." Jordan told him.

"Are you two quite finished?" The Coach asked them. Jordan gestured for him to continue. "Thank you so much for letting me do my job Edwards! Now, when I call your name, I'll tell you to step to the left or the right. Do so quickly, I don't have all day. Benedict, on the left, Underwood on the right."

As this process continued, Jake just kept looking over to where Allison was watching to see who was going to be on the team.

"So, you going to ask her out again?" Jordan asked him. "I thought she shot you down already."

"Yeah, but...people change their minds right?" He asked. "Besides, she keeps showing up wherever I do, we seem to have a lot in common."

"Edwards, what is it with you?" The Coach yelled. "On the left!"

"Right coach." Jordan answered, heading over to the group. "Holling, you're on the left too. Alright people, those of you on the left have made my final list. Those of you on the right, thank you for wasting three hours of my life, now get the hell off my field!"

The remaining players started cheering and high-fiving each other.

"Now, don't get too comfortable, the league only allows a roster of twenty players, and I still have twenty eight of you." The Coach reminded them. "All of you are still maybes. I'm going to spend the rest of the week watching tapes to make my selection; the list will be on the bulletin board on the first day of term. Now get out of here before I change my mind!"

The players started to leave the field, at which Jake and Jordan headed for where their bags were lying, beginning to gather their gear.

"So, I guess now we just have to get to the park..." Jordan's words tailed off as he saw Jake heading for the stands. "...and I'm talking to myself."

Jake bounded over to where Allison appeared to be reaching over the side of the bleachers for something, but she stopped as she saw him.

"Jake!" She said, sounding a little startled.

"Did you see that? I'm in with a shot at the team!" Jake told her.

"Yeah, I saw that." She answered. "You've been great the last couple of years, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Does it make you want to reconsider trying out for cheerleading?" Jake asked her.

"Um...no, I don't think so." Allison answered, shaking her head and sitting upright, looking at him.

"So...we have some time before we meet up with our friends, would you like to head to the park?" Jake asked her. "I know this great stand that sells subs..."

"I'm sorry, but no." Allison interrupted him.

"Well, I guess we don't have to do that." Jake answered. "Maybe we could..."

"Look, I um...I really need to hang around here for a little while." She told him.

"Everyone's going home." Jake reminded her. "Even the coach is..."

"Jake, I have things to do alright?" Allison asked him. Jake just nodded and left slowly. As he got back to Jordan, he picked up his bag.

"Shot down again?" Jordan asked. Jake just nodded. "Never mind, plenty more fish in the sea."

"Yeah, but Noah's the fish guy remember?" Jake asked as they left. He couldn't help glancing back to Allison, noticing that she was still just sitting, like she was waiting for everyone else to go before she left.

"Whatever, the others will be waiting for us." Jordan chuckled as they headed for the showers.

Elsewhere in the city, Cat was in her apartment, working on her portfolio. She was completely heartbroken by the fight with Gia. She never expected Gia to be happy about the fact that she would soon be moving to the other end of the state, but she had never seen Gia so angry. Gia's words had hurt her deeply, far more than the knowledge that soon she wouldn't be able to see her as often as she would like. She had, instead, lost her altogether.

She heard the doorbell and sighed, looking to the door.

"I'm just coming." She stated as she headed to the door. When she opened the door, she was confronted by a stuffed tiger, looking straight into her face.

"Hello Cat." The tiger said in a little squeaky voice as a pair of hands waved its paws. "I heard you like tigers."

Gia lowered the toy, looking to Cat, who was smiling just a little.

"Gia." Cat began. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Gia asked. Cat just gestured her inside, at which Gia went in nervously. She knew she had a lot to make up for.

"Are you here to yell at me some more?" Cat asked her. Gia just looked at her curiously.

"Who brings a stuffed tiger to shout at someone?" Gia asked her. Cat just shrugged. "Look, I just came to apologise. I had no right to talk to you the way I did."

"You were upset, I get that." Cat told her. "But some of the things you said, it really hurt."

"I know, and I really am sorry." Gia reiterated. "Cat, when you sprung this on me, it really hurt, I was upset and angry and..."

She let her words tail off.

"Cat, you don't know how hard this is. I love you." Gia told her. "I can't stand the thought of not seeing you every day. I guess, stupidly, a part of me thought it would be easier to be angry with you. That maybe if I broke up with you that it wouldn't hurt as much."

"That's not that smart." Cat commented. Gia just shook her head as she approached Cat.

"No, no it's not." Gia replied as she started to stroke Cat's hair. "It's also not fair to you. This is an amazing opportunity for you. It would be selfish of me to try and make you choose. You have an amazing talent, and you deserve to have the best chance to pursue it."

"You mean you don't mind?" Cat asked her.

"It still sucks, but at least I know you'll be safe." Gia replied. "Besides, there's Skype and IM...and I guess there's holidays. College is only a year away."

She looked deeply into Cat's eyes, before bringing the tiger up again.

"Please forgive Gia." She said in the squeaky voice. Cat just took the tiger and hugged it tightly.

"I'm going to call him fluffy." She told Gia, kissing it softly, before putting it down next to the dragon Gia had given her earlier.

"So...fluffy and huffy?" Gia asked her. Cat just looked at her. "I guess I can live with that. So, am I forgiven?"

"OK, you're given. So, what can we do now?" Cat asked her, putting her arms around Gia. "I mean, we do only have a week together. We should probably make the most of it."

"I'm meant to be training with the guys in the park." Gia told her regretfully. "Um...would you maybe like to come with us?"

"Watch you train?" Cat asked with a little smile. "I think I could do that."

With that, she gathered up a denim jacket, following Gia out of the door.


	4. The Park

It was early afternoon by the time the Rangers had assembled in the park for training. Although they were used to training in private, away from prying eyes, today they'd all had other stuff to do, meaning no one was in the mood to walk all the way out into the woods for privacy. The benefit of living in California was that there was a large MMA following, which meant that no one really thought the sight of people sparring in a public park was anything to be concerned about. As long as they didn't break out the weapons or the spandex, no one would think it was anything more than a bunch of teenagers training together.

Gia was leaning against a tree, watching as Noah was working with Jordan, and Jake was sparring with Troy. She had a little smile on her face as Cat sat on the grass a little way off, her legs crossed, humming away to herself as she did some sketches of the team in action. Emma saw the look on her face and nudged Gia gently.

"You should be concentrating." Emma reminded her. "We're meant to be training."

"I know, it's just..." Gia started to say, before pulling closer to Emma. "Cat's not going to be coming back to school with us."

"Really?" Emma asked, looking over to Cat. "She's dropping out?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Gia answered as she fumbled with a bottle of water, taking a drink. "She's going to some fancy art school in Los Angeles."

"Oh." Emma stated, hearing what Gia had said. "I'm sorry..."

"No, it's alright, really it is." She insisted. "I was upset when she told me, we even had a huge fight about it, but I just...I got to thinking. This is really good for her."

"Really?" Emma asked. "But...Los Angeles is so far away."

"I know, and I know I'll miss her like crazy." Gia agreed. "But the way I see it, I can either be selfish and only think about how much I'll miss her, or I can be happy for her. This art school could open so many doors for her. Not to mention I won't have to worry about her being attacked by whatever monster is running around."

"So you really don't mind?" Emma asked her.

"Well, not all of us are lucky enough to have the protective spandex." Gia answered. "Even Ernie said that."

"I guess that's the one advantage I have with Tr...wait what?" Emma started to answer, before noticing what Gia had said. "Back up, are you saying Ernie knows?"

"Yeah, he...kind of told me so this morning." Gia admitted. Emma just looked stunned, but Gia held her hands up defensively. "Hey, I never said anything to him; he must have figured it out some other way!"

Just then, there was a yell, and Noah landed on the ground a little way from Gia. She just helped him up, as he started stroking the back of his head.

"It looks like break time is over." Gia told him, before stepping up, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she took on a guard. "Alright Sir Jordan, let's see what you have."

"Don't expect any chivalry." Jordan replied with a smile. "I might be a gentleman, but when I'm fighting, I'm an equal opportunities ass kicker."

"I'll remind you of those words when you get your ass kicked by a girl." Gia replied as she led off with a kick.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Warstar ship, Vrak was in his lab, working on a project. The screams coming from the lab terrified even the other aliens in the ship. None of them, with the exception of Admiral Malkor ever dared to come near his laboratory. His weaponry, technology and his experiments had won the Warstar many victories, and were responsible for a number of worlds falling under their rule. As a result, Admiral Malkor was loathe to discipline Vrak any time one of his followers who was a little too curious about what went on in Vrak's lab disappeared without explanation. After a few such instances, pretty much all of them now knew better than to go anywhere near that part of the ship.

Vrak had good reason to guard his secrets and his research so jealously. His success and the fact that only he understood it was not only the reason for his privileged position on the ship, but indeed for his continued survival. He wasn't one of the Warstar really; his planet was one that had been enveloped into the Warstar's empire many years ago when they swept across his galaxy like a rampant plague. Vrak's father, the king of that planet, had consistently refused to submit to their rule, opposing them again and again. His kind were an expansionist race in their own right, but as they lost planet after planet to the Warstar, the King still refused to accept that their savagery and dominance was such that in a war of attrition, there would only ever be one winner.

That didn't mean that Vrak didn't have designs on conquest himself. He just knew that direct conflict was not the best way to go about it. Such was the overwhelming strength of the Warstar's empire that a war between both races would only end in the complete annihilation of Vrak's people, even if it did mean that they would in turn be too weak to continue and inevitably end up being destroyed themselves by the next expansionist race they met. It would be a senseless waste...especially when he could easily turn their thirst for conquest to his own ends. The time would come when he was the one on the throne, but for that to happen, he needed to convince them that his planet had submitted peacefully. His father had never suspected a thing when Vrak threw a feast in his honour, and gifted him with a number of new concubines. When morning came, and his father was far from capable of defending himself, the last thing he saw was Vrak kneeling over him with the dagger he then used to remove his heart. He handed it to Admiral Malkor as a tribute while it was still warm.

As he worked on his project, Admiral Malkor came in.

"You've been here for some time Vrak." He began. "You promised me results some time ago."

"You have to understand, any experimentation has its delays." Vrak told him. "You have already asked me to experiment on a Toxic Mutant..."

"Do you really think I will risk my own warriors until your new theory is tested?" He asked in response. "That book you purchased cost a great deal, and we still have no idea if it works."

"I am certain it works." He answered. "I bought it from a trader who excavated Earth's moon. It once belonged to Lord Zedd."

"Yes, I remember Zedd." He growled in recognition at the name. In the early days, before Lord Zedd's empire inexplicably crumbled, the then fledgling Warstar had encountered his forces a few times. "Those Eltarians are hideous enough creatures with their skins. It still boggles my mind how he survived those injuries."

"Well, this codex holds a lot of the answers." Vrak informed him. "He utilised a unique blend of Eltarian technology and forbidden dark magics. Apparently one of his followers created that armour he wore which preserved his life...if one can call living without skin a life."

"And you believe that this tattered old notebook of his can help us?" He asked, looking to the tome in disgust.

"Well, we'll soon find out." Vrak told him. "If the strength of the Toxic Mutants alone isn't enough, and my technology alone isn't enough...perhaps a little magic to go with it will tip the balance. I present to you...the Shadow Serpent."

"Shadow Serpent?" Admiral Malkor asked him, looking to the creature in the machine Vrak was working on. "So, what exactly can this creature do?"

"Rather than explain it, why don't I show you?" Vrak asked him.

"Are you sure this...thing...is ready?" Admiral Malkor asked him.

"We'll find out soon enough." Vrak replied as he pressed a button, bringing up a digital countdown. "The process will soon be complete."

Back at the park, Emma was sparring with Jake, while Troy was working with Noah, helping him with some of his basics.

Although Noah was by no means a novice anymore, the fact was that he was way behind the others in his training. He hadn't really been much into sports before his Ranger days, and he certainly hadn't been a Martial Artist. It was fortunate that the others, Troy especially, were eager to help him. Troy had more than enough qualifications to take classes. Meanwhile, Gia and Jordan were still battling for supremacy. Jordan staggered backwards as Gia caught him with a back kick to the chest.

"Nice shot." Jordan complimented her. "I guess it's only natural you'll get lucky once in a while."

"You know, the more I practice the luckier I get." Gia told him as they came back together. This time, it was Jordan who got the upper hand, sweeping Gia's legs out from under her, before pinning her down.

"It looks like it." Jordan teased her. Gia brought up her leg, shoving him off and rolling back to her feet.

"For God's sake get a room." Noah teased them. "Maybe if you stop flirting we can get some work done."

"Ew." Both of them said together, backing off.

"You know Noah; it's kind of hard to take you seriously when you can't even ask out a girl when anyone who isn't Ray Charles can see she's into you." Jordan replied.

"Well, it may interest you to know, I actually IM'd her just this morning, and we're going out this weekend." Noah corrected him, sounding rather smug. "Now that would leave those of us without a love life to...um...oh yeah, Jake the Snake and Sir Jordan."

"Hey!" Jake protested.

"You know, he does have a point." Gia said as she joined in the teasing. "I guess you guys just have to try a little harder."

"Alright, let's take a break for a little bit." Troy stated as he finished taking Noah through some drills. "Rest up for ten minutes or so, then we'll swap partners."

As they all headed off to relax. Emma took a seat with Troy.

"So, is it working?" He asked. He knew about the difficulty Emma was having difficulty with the situation at home. Although she hadn't really felt much like it, Troy had told her that often when something was troubling him, a good workout helped him to clear his mind. It would give him something else to concentrate on, and when he was done, sometimes just approaching the issue from the beginning again would let him see things differently.

"It's helping a little I guess." Emma told him with a shrug. "I guess I just don't know how to feel. It's just been me and dad for a long time."

"Things do change." Troy reminded her.

"I know, but this...this just seems so...I don't know, it just doesn't seem right." Emma answered. "I mean, I guess I should have expected he'd want to date again someday, but..."

"It's strange seeing him with someone other than your mom?" Troy asked her. Emma just nodded.

"I know it's silly, but I always took a lot more after my mom than I did after dad." Emma told him. "The singing, my love of nature...I guess in a lot of ways she was my role model. She was my idol."

"Your idol?" He asked in response.

"I know it sounds silly." Emma sighed. "Dad used to talk about her a lot when it happened, said it was important that we didn't forget her. He always makes time any time something happens that reminds me of her..."

"He obviously loved her a lot." Troy assured her.

"He did, he always said she was the love of his life." Emma sighed. "But now, I see him kissing Louise, and it all just doesn't seem right."

"Is it seeing him with Louise? Or just seeing him with anyone?" Troy asked her.

"I guess it's a little of both." Emma replied. "I've known Louise since I was six years old! She's always been a friend of the family."

"So, you know her well." He answered.

"I...I guess." Emma conceded.

"Would you be happy with anyone dating your dad?" He asked her. Emma just shrugged as she considered it. "Well, maybe it's not such a bad thing that when it did happen...it's someone you know you like, and that's got your dad's best interests at heart."

"Am I still allowed to be weirded out by the thought of them...you know...making out and stuff?" She asked him.

"I doubt anyone would expect anything else." Troy told her. "But maybe it's important for you to let your dad and Mrs Moran know how you feel."

"That'll be a fun conversation." Emma grumbled sarcastically.

"I've got no doubt it won't be the most comfortable of conversations." He conceded. "But I think if you're all going to move forward from this, I have a feeling it's going to need to happen."

"I hate it when you're right." She responded.

"No you don't." He said with a little smile as he drew closer, kissing her softly.

Back on the Warstar ship, Vrak was checking the monitor as he tracked his latest experiment. He smiled as the countdown reached zero.

"At last." He said with a satisfied look on his face. He went to another console and started punching the controls, opening up the machine. "Now comes the best part of any experiment. Testing the results in the field."


	5. Shadow Games

At a lake near the chemical plant, Bigs and Bluefur made their way to the banks as instructed. Vrak had told them that he had a new plan involving one of their mutants. Although they both always suspected Vrak had his own motives, Bluefur had always warned him against utilising any of his brothers and sisters without consent.

"Where is he?" Bluefur growled, looking around for the elusive alien. "Why must he always test our patience?"

"They do say good things come to those who wait." Vrak answered as he finally appeared. Bigs and Bluefur both looked at him sceptically.

"So, you said you had need for one of our servants." Bigs grumbled, becoming as frustrated with Vrak as he was. They had already lent him a few of their brethren for his schemes. They were already few in number, and some of his schemes had led to them losing some of their valued brothers. Bluefur was loathe to lend him any more power. "So, which one is it?"

"I hope you don't mind, but I already made my introductions to him." Vrak began, gesturing to the lake. "Shadow Serpent, come."

Bluefur and Bigs watched as Shadow Serpent strode out of the lake, coming towards them. Vrak just smiled as he saw him. He had kidnapped him, and performed his experiments on him without Bluefur's approval. He knew that he wouldn't agree to risk one of his brothers in such a way, but then Vrak wasn't willing to risk any of his own resources. He had brainwashed Shadow Serpent as a precaution to play along with the pretence.

"Does he look different to you?" Bigs asked his superior, looking to the creature stepping out of the lake. "He certainly feels different..."

"I have merely been exploring some new talents." Shadow Serpent replied.

"I have been observing some of your servants for a while now. Your followers, The Brotherhood had some powerful abilities that were unique to them." Vrak told them. "I was simply waiting for others to show similarly exotic and unique abilities. The way I see it, the more bizarre the creatures' abilities, the less likely it is the Rangers will have found a way to counter them."

"I suppose that makes sense." Bluefur said with a gruff tone in his voice. "So, what exactly can you do that I don't know about?"

"I...think perhaps it is best that we simply show you." Vrak interrupted before Shadow Serpent could answer. The nature of his gift was magical, born of the same dark lore he had stolen from Lord Zedd's codex, the last thing he needed was for Bigs or Bluefur to figure out that he had indeed performed his experiments on Shadow Serpent without their knowledge. He could deal with the fallout when he came back with a victory. Somehow he had a feeling that if he got rid of the Rangers, Bluefur wouldn't be too upset about one of his monsters spending a few days in a lab. Worst case scenario, he would have someone to help take care of him while he escaped to get reinforcements from the ship.

"Well, whatever this talent is, do you think it'll be enough to take care of the Robo Knight?" Bluefur asked him. "I'm sick of losing my subjects to that tin plated psychopath."

"I dare say he will be able to take down the whole team if they cross his path." Vrak told them.

"It wouldn't be the first time you made such bold claims." Bigs reminded him. "Are you sure?"

Vrak looked to the horizon, seeing the sun in the sky, with very little cloud cover and smiled.

"Let's just say, I have a feeling this will be a very sunny day for all of us." He replied. "Go Shadow Serpent, do as I instructed."

"As you wish Vrak." He answered as disappeared into the undergrowth. As he teleported back to the ship, Bigs and Bluefur left.

"I still say something isn't right about this." Bigs told him. "Something didn't feel right about Shadow Serpent."

A little later, back at the park, Cat was taking a break from her sketching. Although she was happy to be with the others as they trained, there was only so long she could sit in one place with all her energy. She just had to get up and stretch her legs for a bit, and have a look around for some inspiration. She had seen a stand selling fresh lemonade earlier, and she had offered to go and get some for the others, but now she was finding it hard to remember where it was. Although Harwood took environmentalism seriously, and had numerous park areas, the down side was that the main park was kind of large. It was easy to get lost, especially when she wasn't really concentrating on directions, and more on seeing her girlfriend in action.

As she was wandering around, she bumped into someone, and quickly apologised, but didn't get a response.

"That was rude." She murmured, making her way further down the path. She found a man standing on one leg, his arm outstretched like he was trying to catch something, but other than that...he was completely still. She just shrugged as she went on her way, but stopped as she stepped on something...it was a Frisbee, just a little way from the man. It was almost as though he was trying to catch the Frisbee...and then just stopped. Picking it up, she went over to him.

"Here you go." She said. He said nothing. She stepped a little closer, offering him the Frisbee again, but still nothing. He didn't even seem to be looking at her. His eyes seemed like they were just staring off, into space, but something about them seemed alive. It was like he was in there but at the same time not.

She looked to where he was looking, and saw another person standing still, this one looking like he had just thrown the Frisbee. She just went over and started waving a hand in his face.

"Hello?" She asked, continuing to wave, hoping for a response. "OK, this is getting creepy."

Just then, she heard something a little way off. It sounded like a little kid yelling. She went to see what was going on, to find him by a bench, pulling at the arms of a man and woman, who were sitting there, presumably his parents.

"Mom, dad, come on, please move!" He begged them, pulling as hard as he could. Cat came across, trying to see what the fuss was. As she got there, he looked to her with tears in his eyes. "They...they won't move, they won't answer."

"What happened here?" Cat asked the little boy.

"I don't know, I went to find our dog Buster." He explained. "When we got back, they were just stuck like this!"

Just then, she heard some barking, and they turned to see a dog, presumably Buster, barking at a large monster. It was huge, black, and had a long neck. Cat just grabbed the little boy as he tried to go and get his dog.

"Buster!" He called out. Cat just held onto the boy as he struggled to get to his dog. They could only watch as the monster lashed out with its tongue. Cat hid the little boy's face, trying to stop him seeing what happened, thinking the monster was going to eat his dog, but could only watch as instead; its tongue struck the ground and seemed to pull the shadow out from under him. The dog immediately stopped barking, and fell to the ground in exactly the same shape it had been as it leapt up, lying like it was made of wood. Cat just gulped.

"Buster." The little boy called out again. Cat just took him by the hand and started to run.

"Run away!"" She told him, shoving him in another direction. "I'll keep him distracted, go and find a grown up, tell them what happened."

As the boy started running, she stopped and took the Frisbee she was still carrying, throwing it at the monster. The toy hit the creature on the side of the face.

"Hey, big ugly snail thing!" She called out. "I'm over here!"

"I'm Shadow Serpent!" He snarled as he saw her. "Could a snake move this quickly?"

Cat just shrieked in fright, before running off in search of the Rangers, hoping she could get back to them and warn them before Shadow Serpent could catch them unawares.

Meanwhile, the Rangers were still training, having changed up partners. Noah was now working with Emma, while Gia and Troy faced off, leaving Jake to spar with Jordan. Eventually, checking his watch, Troy just whistled to indicate that it was time to stop.

"Alright guys, that's enough for today." He told them. "Let's all go home and get some..."

Just then, they heard a scream from a little way off. Gia recognised the voice instantly.

"Cat!" She called out as she and the others all started running, morphing as they went.

"So much for getting some rest." Emma stated as they went in search of Gia's girlfriend. It didn't take long for them to find Cat running towards them. Shadow Serpent wasn't far behind her, and was gaining fast.

Gia brought out her blaster, firing a shot as Shadow Serpent got close to Cat, knocking him off his feet and allowing Cat to get behind them. He got back to his feet, facing off against the Rangers.

"Vrak was right; it didn't take long for you to show up." Shadow Serpent stated.

"Vrak?" Noah asked. "If he's involved it can't be good."

"What is that thing? Some kind of snail?" Jordan asked, seeing the creature.

"I'm a serpent!" Shadow Serpent snapped in response.

"But...you have a shell." Jake replied.

"Boy, the guys that hired me really overestimated you." Shadow Serpent said sarcastically. "I am Shadow Serpent."

"And pretty soon you'll be ash." Jordan stated. Shadow Serpent lashed out with his tongue. Seeing it coming, and remembering what happened to Buster, Cat launched herself at the team, shoving them aside.

"Look out!" She shrieked. "His tongue..."

Her words tailed off as with her efforts to save her friends, she ended up putting herself in the firing line. Gia recovered just in time to see Shadow Serpent taking Cat's shadow instead of theirs. Cat was stuck, frozen in place. Gia went to her side, trying to get a response from her, but she wouldn't move, or speak at all.

"Cat!" She called out. "What did you do to her?"

"The same thing I'm going to do to all of you." He answered with a sneer. "Vrak told me to eat all of your shadows and leave you helpless to stop him!"

As he prepared to attack again, the Rangers leapt out of the way.

"He can eat shadows?" Noah asked. "That's scientifically impossible!"

"Dude, are you still hung up on what's scientifically possible?" Jake asked him. "After all we've seen, you think this is the most bizarre thing you've seen?"

"Cat's frozen!" Emma informed them. "It seems like if he takes your shadow, you end up frozen."

"Guys, we can't let him take our shadows." Troy told them. "If we do, we're finished."

We need to fight him somewhere there's no shadows." Noah suggested. "Come on, we have to get somewhere out of the light!"

"You heard him." Troy agreed. "Head for the trees!"

"What about Cat?" Gia asked.

"We can't help her right now." Troy replied. "Come on!"

As Shadow Serpent lashed out with his tongue, the Rangers darted this way and that, looking for somewhere to get into shade so that they could avoid having their shadows stolen.

"We're too far from the woods." Emma told them. "There are too few trees out here!"

"Get under the big one!" Jake told them. "Rockcrush card, Activate!"

Two massive boulders ripped out of the ground, and flew towards Shadow Serpent. The creature saw them hurtling towards it, and had to break off its attack of the Rangers.

"Let's play rock paper shadows!" Shadow Serpent stated, snatching the shadows from underneath the boulders. They crashed to the ground, smashing to pieces and tearing up the turf.

By the time he turned back to the Rangers, they had all assembled under the only tree in the area large enough to shade them all. He just smiled.

"Good, bunch up like that, make it easy for me." He yelled as he spun around, sending a muscular tail their direction. The Rangers dived out the way as it smashed the tree into kindling with a single blow. The return blow scattered them all in different directions.

"There's no shade." Emma called out. "Guys, we're vulnerable!"

The fact had not been lost on Troy, who rushed straight at Shadow Serpent with his Dragon Sword before he could recover, parrying a few strikes, before getting close enough to grab him, holding him in an arm lock.

Jordan readied his blaster, and turned to where Troy was wrestling with Shadow Serpent.

"Jordan, take the shot!" Troy told him as Jordan tried to aim.

"I...I can't get a clear shot!" He told him, struggling to get a good bead on them as they struggled. Jordan was easily the best shot, and was possibly good enough to make it, but he didn't want to take any chances. He had caused more than enough pain as the Robo Knight, and didn't want to take any chances with his team mates.

"Just...just do it!" Troy struggled out. "If you can't hit one of us, hit both of us!"

"But..."

"Just do it!" Troy interrupted him. At that point though, he was thrown off as Shadow Serpent finally got into position to grab him. Throwing Troy clear, he was preparing to renew his attack, but saw things growing dim and looked up. A large cloud was drifting past the sun, blocking it out, and casting a lot of shade over the park. He knew that without his main attack, without being able to take Rangers out of the fight, his power over them was greatly reduced.

"Aw, the sun's away, so no more play." He responded. "Next time, I'll eat you for breakfast."

With that, he disappeared. The Rangers started to regroup, staring at the spot where he disappeared.

"OK, that was a new trick." Jordan commented. "I didn't think mutants could teleport. I thought only the Warstar could."

"Besides, when the Warstar teleport, it's normally accompanied by a huge light show." Jake pointed out. "He just kind of...disappeared."

"Not to mention the whole eating shadows thing, which for the record is STILL scientifically impossible." Noah reminded them.

"OK, he's got some bizarre abilities. We'll need to figure that out." Troy conceded. "Let's get back to the command centre."

"Can we take Cat?" Gia asked. The others just looked at her. "Um...maybe Tensou can find a way to...unfreeze people if he can study one of them? She already knows about us anyway."

"Gia, you know only Rangers are allowed..."

"Besides, they already know that she's connected to us." Gia continued to plead her case. "She won't be safe if we just leave her here."

"Alright, we'll bring her with us." Troy conceded as Gia took hold of her girlfriend's arm. "We'll do the usual phone tree; tell all of your parents you're at another's house so we won't be missed. Tensou, bring us in, seven to teleport."

With that, they disappeared, heading to the Command Centre to regroup. Shadow Serpent had presented them with a new kind of threat, and if they were going to overcome it, they needed to know what they were facing.


	6. We Have a Plan

Shadow Serpent arrived back at the edge of the lake, finding Vrak waiting for him.

"I was hoping for a lot more than this." Vrak told him.

"I underestimated..."

"You were so wrapped up in your power, the power I gave you, that you wasted time and let your arrogance overtake you!" Vrak rebuked him as he looked to his creation.

"I could not do anything, without the sunlight; there were no shadows for me to steal!" Shadow Serpent spat his excuses angrily. "By the time the clouds cleared, the sun was already setting. I can't exactly be held responsible for the weather now can I?"

"I give you power unfathomable to your primitive mind, a weapon the Rangers could not possibly understand, and instead of bringing news of their defeat, you return without even having taken down a single Ranger, and nothing but excuses." Vrak drawled as he looked out over the lake. He just sighed. "Go...go and recover your energies and resume your attack in the morning."

"But..."

"I will take care of the clouds." Vrak told him, producing a device and throwing it into the air. A couple of rotor blades shot out of it, and started to rotate, lifting it into the sky. "With luck, I won't need to do EVERYTHING myself."

Meanwhile, the Rangers were back to the Command Centre to regroup after their loss to Shadow Serpent. Gia watched as Tensou was running some tests on Cat, who was still frozen exactly as she had been when Shadow Serpent had eaten her shadow. No matter how many lights they shone on her, she still didn't seem to cast a shadow.

Emma was sitting with Gia on a bed nearby. The Rangers knew that they had to be ready to act at any moment. Gia and Emma had called Eric to tell him they'd be staying at Jordan's place; Jordan had called his dad to say he'd be staying at Jake's and so on. They had set up beds for the night so that they would be ready to act as soon as Shadow Serpent showed up.

"Is it wrong that even as a statue I find her adorable?" Gia sighed sadly as she watched Tensou working on her girlfriend, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help her right now. Emma just put her arm around her, holding her in close.

"We'll figure this out." Emma said as reassuringly as she could under the circumstances. "You know Tensou's never failed us before."

"I just really wish there was more that we could do." Gia said regretfully, looking over to them. Jordan and Troy appeared back in the command centre, carrying a stack of pizzas.

"Dinner's here." Troy announced as he put them down on a table. Gia just shook her head.

"I'm not that hungry." She replied. All things considered, no one could really blame her for not having much of an appetite.

"Come on Gia; just have a couple of slices at least." Troy told her. "At very least, you want to be at full strength for when Shadow Serpent shows up again."

"We don't even know when he'll show up again." Jake reminded her. "Starving yourself isn't going to do any good."

"Well, I think we can safely say he's not going to show up again tonight." Noah declared. The others just looked at him. "Well, think about it. He eats shadows right?"

"Yeah?" Jordan asked.

"Well, the sun just went down." Noah reminded them. "His shadow stealing shtick is his most powerful weapon. He can take each of us out in one hit with that attack. You saw how quickly he cut and run when we hit cloud cover."

"So in other words..."

"He's not likely to fight us when he knows that he'll have to take us on in a fair fight." Noah told them. "He'll wait until tomorrow, once the sun's up and he can pick us all off rather than risk fighting us without his main attack."

"So, basically all we can do is hope for a cloudy day." Jake said sarcastically.

"Well, no such luck." Noah responded, showing them a weather map. "I've been tracking the weather satellite images, and the nearest clouds are moving away from us. The winds suddenly changed directions to carry clouds away from the city."

"That seems a little...convenient." Jake commented.

"For once, I think Jake's right." Noah told them. "The sudden shift in the winds, it doesn't seem likely it's natural. I think Vrak might have had something to do with it. You know...maximise his monster's chances."

"You think Vrak can control the weather now?" Emma asked him. Noah just shrugged.

"Is it any less far-fetched than a monster eating shadows?" He asked. "At least there are ways someone can change wind currents that make sense scientifically."

Tensou stopped scanning Cat, and returned to the Rangers.

"I'm sorry Rangers, but...there's nothing I can do." He told them. Gia just looked horrified.

"No, that...that can't be it." Gia told him. "You have to..."

"No, no you don't understand." Tensou interrupted her quickly, realising what it had to sound like. "Her vital signs...they all register as fine. Her breathing, her heart rate, her metabolism...even her brain functions register as normal."

"Well that last part would be a change." Jordan chuckled. He received a slice of pepperoni pizza to the back of his head at high velocity from Gia for his ill-considered joke. "Hey, you're wasting good pizza!"

"But...she's still frozen!" Gia told him.

"I know, but as far as all her biological functions go, there's no reason she shouldn't be moving." He explained. "Indeed, her brain functions show that she's conscious."

"So...she can see and hear everything, she just...can't do anything?" Troy asked, looking to Cat and waving a hand in front of her face. "Why?"

"That's just it, I don't know." Tensou replied. "Speaking from a strictly scientific standpoint, there's no reason whatsoever she shouldn't be absolutely fine."

"Then perhaps the cause is not scientific in nature." Gosei suggested. Some red beams came from his eyes and bathed Cat in a deep red glow. After a moment, he stopped his scan. "It is as I feared; the cause is magical in nature, not scientific."

"Magical?" Troy asked, looking to the others. "That's new."

"How would the mutants gain access to magic?" Emma asked Gosei.

"I recognise the nature of the magic that has been used." Gosei continued. "My mentor Zordon once fought against a creature who utilised such means. It was an Eltarian who against the laws of Eltar began to study and use forbidden dark magic, blending it with their technology. After the fall of Eltar, he attempted to seize control of the universe, taking on the name Lord Zedd."

"Lord Zedd?" Jake asked. "My...my dad told me about him, he said he nearly succeeded in taking over the Earth a couple of times. He was Eltarian?"

"He was." Gosei told them. "He utilised dark magic so powerful, he even managed to corrupt one of Earth's strongest good magical beings to become one of his servants. I recognise the energies of that magic."

"So, you think Lord Zedd is back?" Jake asked him. "I thought...he hasn't been seen since the Space Rangers..."

"He is no longer active. The energy wave caused by Zordon's sacrifice turned him human. I believe he is working in the DVLA now." He told them.

"So, he's still evil." Jordan remarked. "So, if Lord Zedd's no longer active, how did Shadow Serpent learn his magic?"

"I do not believe he has, the magical energies appear to be fused to him, rather than within him." Gosei told them. "I believe someone infused him with those powers."

"Alright as fascinating as all that is, how do we return people to normal?" Gia asked them. "As much as I'd like Cat to stay in town, I would prefer it if my girlfriend wasn't a statue."

"Magic in all its forms relies on the will of the one responsible for the spell." Gosei told them. "If you destroy Shadow Serpent, those he has frozen should return to their original state."

"Destroy the snake, got it." Gia replied, looking to Cat, who was still standing in the corner of the room, unmoving. "I'll make this right, I promise."

"Right, in the meantime, we should all eat up and get some rest." Troy declared. "We want to be ready when he comes back tomorrow."

As they all headed to their beds, each taking some pizza with them. Emma sat with Gia as they started eating.

"Gia...can I ask you something?" Emma asked her.

"Sure." Gia replied as Emma shifted a little.

"It's about my mom and your dad." Emma told her. "What do you think about it?"

"Wow, um...OK." Gia rambled as she started to think about it. "Um...do you really want to know?"

"Gia, I wouldn't ask you if I didn't." Emma told her. "I'm trying to get my head around everything, and how I feel about it all, but...I was just wondering how you felt."

"Well, OK, if you want the honest answer?" Gia asked. "I guess at first, it seemed a little weird. Not so much for my mom, but...for me if I'm honest."

"Really?" Emma asked.

"Emma, it wasn't so long ago I was crushing on you, remember?" Gia reminded her. "Well, the thing is, for a while I was kind of creeped out, just because of that whole thing, you know? But then I got to thinking about it."

"And?" Emma asked.

"My mom wasn't kidding when she said she and dad weren't working for a long time." Gia told her. "If I'm honest, I guess I always knew dad didn't treat her right. I knew she wasn't really happy, even if I didn't want to admit it. Your dad's done so much for us already, and I've known him for so long...I guess I know he'd be really good for her."

Emma didn't say anything, just nodding in response. Gia could see the look on her face.

"Look, I know this is the first time you've seen your dad with anyone since your mom died." Gia told her. "I guess it was always going to be strange the first time."

"I've known your mom since we were six." Emma told her. "I know she's a good person Gia, I know that she's kind and thoughtful and...She's just not mom."

"No one is." Gia told her. "No one could be. Eleanor was one of a kind."

"I still really miss her." Emma told her. "I guess I always was going to compare anyone my dad ended up with to my memory of her. I've idolised her for so long, I guess no one was ever going to have a chance."

"So, what does that mean?" Gia asked her.

"I guess what it means is once we get home, we need to have that talk your mom and my dad have been trying to have with us for the last couple of days." Emma sighed. "And, if you're willing to give it a chance, then I guess I am too."

"Maybe we should set some ground rules though." Gia told her with a little shudder. "I mean, I know I could live without seeing what we walked in on again anytime soon."

"I guess you're right." Emma agreed, sharing her reservations. "There are some things I don't think kids are ever meant to see."

The following morning, Vrak once again showed up at the lake, waiting for Shadow Serpent to show up. As the creature finally started to surface, coming towards him through the waves, Vrak just stood impatiently.

"I certainly hope you're well rested." Vrak commented.

"I am back to full power." Shadow Serpent assured him.

"Well, perhaps today you can bring me something more than just excuses." He suggested. "Thanks to my devices, the forecast is nothing but clear skies the whole day."

"Then I will go and collect more shadows." He stated.

"See that you do! I expect at least one Ranger, or the Robo Knight to be incapacitated by the end of the day." Vrak told him. With that, Shadow Serpent disappeared, heading into the city to cause more trouble. Vrak headed back to the ship to observe the results.

Over at the Command Centre, the Rangers were woken by the alarm, tearing them from their sleep. They all assembled in front of the viewing screen.

"Rangers, Shadow Serpent showed up again!" Tensou warned them in a panicked tone.

"Then we need to...WHOA!" Troy stated as he turned, seeing Gia standing a little way off. Her eyes were very heavy, and her hair was a mess. She yawned loudly. All of the others were staring at her too.

"This is what Gia looks like before morning coffee." Emma told them.

"I don't know what's scarier, this monster or Gia before she's woken up." Noah commented. Gia just gave him a death glare.

"Tensou, can you do something?" Emma asked him, ignoring the remarks from the others.

"Iced coffee, extra caffeine coming up." Tensou responded, heading off.

"It'll have to wait." Gia yawned.

"Well, OK, if you're sure." Troy replied. "I never thought I'd ask this before a battle, but Noah...how's the weather report?"

"Bad news, there's not a cloud in the sky." Noah told them. "Not to mention he's showed up on the banks of the Eastern River."

"Great, that's all we need." Jake responded. "There's almost no shade there!"

"He's drawing us out into the open." Emma surmised. "Quite literally."

"I think he might have been too clever for his own good." Troy replied with a huge grin. "Guys, I think I have a plan."

Over on the banks of the Eastern River, Shadow Serpent was causing as much chaos as he could, hoping to get the Rangers out into the open. He knew that if he attacked enough people, they would show up eventually.

On the nearby bridge, a car skidded to a halt, and three men got out. One of them was General Edwards, while two others were members of his team. They were all wearing body armour, and were equipped for a confrontation. One of them was carrying a massive device that looked a lot like a video camera, while another was carrying a sniper rifle with a massive scope. They ran into position at the edge of the bridge, taking cover behind the restraining wall.

"Make sure you've got a shot, but fire only on my order." General Edwards told the sniper. "This is a recon mission only. We are not to engage unless we have to. We need to know what we're up against."

"It looks like a big snail to me." The sniper replied, lining up a shot. "I've got the solution..."

"That is not the primary target." General Edwards reminded him. Just then, the Rangers appeared. He smiled. "There's the primary target."

He turned to the man with the camera device.

"Start filming, run full scan of all energy readings." General Edwards instructed him. "I want to know everything about them."

On the ground, the Rangers started to fan out, surrounding Shadow Serpent.

"Fighting me out in the open?" Shadow Serpent asked them. "I didn't think you'd have the courage!"

"Believe me, the one thing we don't lack is courage." Jordan announced, rushing towards him, firing his blaster to cover his advance. Shadow Serpent fired power blasts his way in response.

"Right, this is it, Jordan's got him distracted." Troy announced. "Let's do it!"

"Mega Quake, Activate!" Jake and Gia called out together, sliding power cards into their morphers. Slamming their hands into the ground, they set up a localised earthquake that cast dirt high into the air.

"Sea Shower, Activate!" Noah added, slamming his Power Card into the morpher. A massive wave rose up in the river, and slammed down, spraying water through the dirt now in the air, dampening it and turning it into a fine mud, creating a dense, dark cloud in the sky.

"Twistornado, Activate!" Emma and Troy concluded the plan, slamming their cards into their morphers, and dispersing the cloud outwards. Shadow Serpent was distracted as he noticed it getting darker, and looked up, seeing the cloud. More importantly, he saw that now, it was blocking out the sun.

"Holy shit!" The sniper on the bridge exclaimed, seeing the display. "Uh...are you getting this?"

"I'm getting it, but I don't believe it." The one recording answered.

"Point that thing down!" General Edwards ordered as he saw the scanner aimed at the cloud. "It's them we want to study!"

Shadow Serpent weathered some blasts from Robo Knight, who was just about to summon up his Vulcan Shot, only to have his blaster smashed out of his hand by Shadow Serpent's tail. He saw it disappear into the river.

"That's it? That was your plan?" Shadow Serpent asked. "Let's cut through all this!"

He fired off a huge power blast that burned through the cloud, dispersing it.

"Guys...the cover!" Noah called out.

"There's nowhere to hide now!" Shadow Serpent snarled. He lashed out with his tongue as the Rangers darted this way and that to avoid it. Noah fell though, tripping over a lump of earth he hadn't seen. Jake ran to help him off, but the delay was all Shadow Serpent needed. He lashed out, taking both their shadows, freezing them to the spot.

"Noah! Jake!" Emma called out, seeing them. Troy saw the battle was going badly, and anger burned within him as he made the only call he could.

"Fall back!" He announced.

"What?" Gia asked.

"If we stay here, we're sitting ducks!" Troy reminded her.

"What about Noah and Jake?" Emma asked him.

"Tensou, teleport them with us." Troy announced. With that, reluctantly, the Rangers left. As they appeared back in the Command Centre though, they noticed that Noah and Jake were not with them.

"Where are they?" Jordan asked.

"They...they're still on the river bank." Tensou stammered. "Somehow teleportation doesn't work while they're frozen."

"But...we brought Cat here!" Gia reminded him.

"We can only teleport a Ranger, or someone or something they're touching." Tensou explained. "It's the same reason you don't all end up naked when you teleport, but for some reason we can't teleport them while they're frozen, one of them would have to be holding them like Gia was with Cat."

"So they're still there?" Gia asked.

"I'm afraid so." He responded.

"We'll have to go back for them later." Troy told them. "In the meantime, we need to figure out what we do now."

Back at the river bank, General Edwards, and his two team mates arrived in their van. Shadow Serpent had moved on, and the only people around were passersby that were stunned to see two Rangers standing frozen in the park.

"Alright, get out of here, nothing to see." General Edwards stated.

"Nothing to see?" One of the citizens asked. "He froze two of the Rangers!"

"You heard the man, beat it." The sniper replied, tapping his rifle. The citizens just left without another word. General Edwards just looked to the Rangers and smiled.

"Well gentlemen, this has provided us with a very interesting opportunity." He stated. "Load them into the vehicle and tell the lab to prepare for our arrival. Tell them we have some very special guests."


	7. Shadow Sacrifice

Troy, Emma and Gia's helmets were lined up on the top of one of the control consoles as they rested up in the Command Centre after their second straight defeat at the hands of Shadow Serpent. They had hoped that going to meet him in the open, by calling his bluff together with their combined use of their powers to block out the sunlight would throw him off his game long enough to take him down. Unfortunately, they were the ones that were caught unawares.

Emma watched as Troy paced back and forth, while Tensou worked on a city wide scan. The next thing that had come as a nasty shock for the Rangers was that when they teleported back to the Command Centre was that Noah and Jake hadn't come with them. None of the Rangers were touching them when they teleported, expecting them to teleport themselves as they usually did. Unfortunately, it seemed that when they were frozen, so too was their own teleportation signal. It appeared that they needed the Rangers to hold onto them, much like if they wanted to bring another person or object with them. To all intents and purposes, once their shadows had been taken and they were frozen, they were inanimate objects.

That was when they got another nasty shock. When they switched the viewing screen back to the riverbank, they found that Noah and Jake were gone. Since they were incapable of moving, it seemed that the only explanation was that Shadow Serpent had taken them with him. This now left them with the problem of where exactly they had gone.

"There's no sign of them." Tensou told them dejectedly.

"Then search further." Troy told him.

"I've already done a planet wide scan." Tensou told him.

"Then search FURTHER!" Troy reiterated. "Search the Warstar flagship if you have to!"

"Troy, it won't do any good, their signals just aren't registering." Tensou told him. "It looks like the signal is frozen just like they are!"

"I am so over this magic shit!" Jordan snapped, kicking one of the control consoles. "That cloud attack should have worked, but he blasted it away like it was nothing!"

"We were just totally unprepared for it." Gia admitted. "It seems like just when we figure him out..."

"He pulls out another power we didn't know about." Emma sighed, nodding in agreement. She looked up to Gosei. "How are we meant to fight against this magic?"

"You have faced unknown threats before." Gosei told them. "Magic may open up the possibilities beyond what you thought was possible..."

"Yeah, like just when we think we've got him on the ropes, he pulls ANOTHER power out of his ass!" Jordan interrupted Gosei. "You said this magic came from Lord Zedd right? How did Zordon and the Rangers beat him?"

"Not easily." Gosei informed them. "They had a number of means at their disposal. Even then, they needed other abilities and powers. Our allies utilised many strange and exotic powers. Zordon learned from many of them, and blended them into Technomancy."

"Technomancy?" Emma asked, looking a little puzzled. "You mean...technology backed up by magic?"

"Technology blended with magic." Gosei corrected him. "He saw the awesome abilities of his enemies and saw that their arsenal was greater than his, and began to study under any mages he could find in white magic."

"Whoa, hold up. I thought magic was forbidden to Eltarians." Jordan chipped in, remembering his time in the library. The others just looked at him in shock. "Back on Eltar, one of their leaders, Lord Scimitar, started to use magic to bolster his power so he could take over the universe. He wanted to preserve the Eltarian race in his image. Zordon fought him for turning on the Eltarian people and their ways..."

"In time though, he listened to the mages he found. They explained to him that magic is a tool like any other. Magic is neither good nor evil; it is the intent of the user that determines how it is used." Gosei continued. "You cannot believe that all of your technology is merely machinery. The Zords, your weapons, even the very suits you wear contain elements of the magic Zordon was taught."

"But Shadow Serpent's magic..."

"A hammer can be used to create, or it can be used to destroy." Gosei interrupted Jordan. "Just like magic."

"One of these teams...they used magic." Troy said, looking to the figurines lining the room. Gosei lit up the Mystic Force team.

"Yes, this team tapped into the vast magic of the Earth, and utilised that over all else." Gosei told them.

"Great, so all we need is some magic." Jordan said sarcastically. "So, what do we do? Point at him and shout Avade Kadavre?"

"There will not be time to find a greater source of magic than Shadow Serpent." Gosei told them.

"What do you mean?" Gia asked.

"Your friend Cat, her vitals are starting to weaken." Gosei informed them. "It appears that when Shadow Serpent takes the shadow, he takes the person's spirit. Once separated, the spirit and the body can only last a short time without each other. In time, the spirit will move on."

"We need to stop this." Gia rushed out in a panic. "Troy, we can't..."

"I'm thinking!" Troy told them. He had to think very carefully about what he had heard. He wanted to find Noah and Jake, to bring them back, and find a way to unfreeze them and attack in a united front.

"Noah's gone; we can't use his water power." Emma reminded him. "We can't try our cloud trick again without him."

"We can't wait until we find them." Troy announced. "If Shadow Serpent's destroyed, his magic will be destroyed too right Gosei?"

"That is correct Troy." Gosei confirmed.

"Then we need to destroy him." Troy announced. "Once we do that, Jake and Noah won't be frozen anymore, and we can bring them back. Tensou, cancel the search for Noah and Jake for a moment. "

"Yeah, there's just a little problem." Gia reminded him. "You see that big yellow thing in the sky? It's not going away anytime soon, and there isn't a cloud for miles."

Troy thought about it for a moment, before something in the room caught his eye. He smiled.

"I have an idea." Troy told them. "But we're going to have to draw him out."

"Well, that's what I'm talking about." Jordan responded, his armour forming up around him as Emma and Gia collected their helmets. "I'm sick of letting this guy dictate the pace of battles."

"I've found Shadow Serpent." Tensou told them. "He's by the polluted lake..."

"Perfect!" Troy snapped. "We need to draw him further down the banks to...here!" He stated, pointing to a map. He looked to Gia. "Are you ready?"

"Trust me; I am all for turning this guy into a purse." Gia stated as she put her helmet back on.

"For once, I agree." Emma added, also replacing her helmet.

"Alright Tensou, we're ready to go." Troy told him as he replaced his helmet. Tensou punched in a few keys and teleported the Rangers away.

Elsewhere, Noah was standing in a room, behind thick, bullet proof glass, still frozen as he had been in his battle with Shadow Serpent. Jake was with him, a little way to the right of him. A number of machines had been linked up to him, presumably some form of scanning equipment.

Noah was, unfortunately, completely conscious, and fully aware of what was going on. These men had found him and Jake, and put them in a van, bringing them here. He had no idea exactly where "here" was, since the van didn't have windows, and he was only unloaded once inside, but he knew the drive wasn't long, so he presumed they had to be close to the city, if they weren't still in it.

The place they had been taken looked pretty non-descript, but it was also clear that it was here for a purpose. There were huge banks of computers and devices studying the Rangers, while lab technicians kept track of them. Two of the men that had taken them were in the room, presumably as guards. They had removed their helmets, so Noah could see their faces now. The sniper was a toned man, around his thirties, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His rifle was propped up next to him, while he was standing, observing the Rangers. The other man, the one who had been carrying the scanning equipment, was black, bald, and looked like he had to weigh close to three hundred pounds without his body armour. He was wearing mirrored shades, and had a goatee style beard.

The sniper approached Noah, inspecting him thoughtfully.

"Dave." The other man snapped, gesturing to his colleague to come back. Dave though didn't seem to take much notice. Instead, he pressed buttons on a keypad, opening the glass partition and allowing him to come in. "Dave! We're meant to keep an eye on them."

"Don't worry; the merchandise isn't going to get damaged." He replied, looking around, beginning to circle Noah and checking out his suit. Noah could do nothing as he seemed to inspect him. "Wow, I thought they always looked bigger when I saw them on the news."

"Dave, we're not meant to..."

"You worry too much Sam." He interrupted him. "When are we likely to get the chance to get this close to Rangers?"

Sam didn't say anything, just continuing to watch as Dave inspected them, seeming to take a certain amount of joy in getting to see them up close like this. He moved across to Jake, beginning to circle him as well, taking care not to disturb any of the wires attached to them.

"This guy's bigger, but he's still not huge." Dave commented.

"OK, so they're not huge." Sam stated. "Will you get out of there? If the General..."

"He's too busy on a conference call to Washington." Dave said with a dismissive wave, coming back around to the front where Noah could see him. He started waving a hand in front of his face, making Noah wish he could say or do something, even if it was just to tell him to cut it out. "You think they're still in there?"

"The vitals are hard to track; our technology barely penetrates the suits." One of the lab techs stated. "But they both seem to be alive."

"So what's the deal with these guys?" He asked. "What are they?"

"As near as we can tell, they're humanoid at least." The lab tech responded. "The energy readings from their suits are huge; it's making it hard to tell if they're even human."

"You know, there is one way to find out." Dave said with a smile, seeing a catch on the side of Noah's helmet. Checking around the other side, he found another just the same.

"Dave..."

"Come on, this is what they're here for right?" Dave asked him. "We're finding out about them."

"We don't know what these things are, or what could happen!" Sam snapped at him. "Now, get out here!"

"Oh, lighten up; I'm just taking a peek." He replied.

Noah could only watch as he reached for the clasps. He could do nothing as Dave took hold, ready to expose his identity to everyone in the room. He wasn't even able to close his eyes. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, and prepared to watch, focusing entirely on Noah. Just then, as he was expecting the whole room to see a terrified High School kid standing in front of them, he saw Dave's face twist into a frown. He rocked Noah back and forth as he fumbled with the clasps.

"Well?" Sam asked.

"They won't open!" Dave stated.

"Maybe they're locked?" One of the lab techs suggested.

"There aren't any locks on them." Dave pointed out. "They're...they're stuck!"

Noah would have breathed a sigh of relief if he could. Whatever power had frozen him in place seemed to have done the same with the clasps to his helmet.

"Maybe an angle grinder..."

"The helmet's on his head genius!" Sam cut Dave off as he shook his head in disbelief. "If you want, you can explain to the General why his brain's on the floor."

"Whatever." Dave groaned as he finally gave up, stepping back outside the room, closing the glass again. He pointed to Noah. "We'll figure out who you are soon enough. Then we'll see about figuring out how to take all those cool little toys of yours."

"Dave, we need to go." Sam told him, holding an earpiece as he seemed to be getting a message. "The General said we've got a sighting."

"Don't go anywhere." Dave teased Noah and Jake with a smile. "For now, we're on Ranger watch."

With that, they ran out of the room, leaving Noah and Jake in the hands of the lab techs as they went back to work.

Shadow Serpent was at the banks of the lake when Vrak arrived. Vrak just looked to him, impatiently.

"Well Vrak, I did as you asked." Shadow Serpent said smugly, posturing as he gave him the news. "Two Rangers have been frozen, and all before midday."

"Yet I do not see you making efforts to destroy the others." Vrak replied.

"They ran away." Shadow Serpent laughed arrogantly. "I doubt we'll be seeing them again, they know what will happ..."

Just then, he and Vrak were blown off their feet by a massive whirlwind.

"What the...?" Shadow Serpent started to say, before looking down the banks, where a power blast fired upwards into the air.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Vrak asked him.

Shadow Serpent used his power to teleport further down the bank, to where the Rangers were waiting. Troy, Emma and Gia were standing in the open.

"You just don't learn do you?" He asked. "So, there are a couple of trees here for shade, that won't save you!"

"We'll just see about that!" Troy answered. "Now!"

Emma and Gia ran away from Shadow Serpent, heading into shade and heading even further up the bank, while Troy rushed Shadow Serpent. He brought his Dragon Sword to bear, hacking away at him wildly, while the mutant tried to stave off the attack.

"You think you can save your friends like this?" Shadow Serpent asked. He smashed Troy aside, and lashed out with his tongue, taking his shadow as he lay on the ground, freezing him in place. He turned as a few blasts hit him, to see Emma a little further down with her phoenix shot at the ready.

"Come and get us!" She yelled at him, breaking into a run. He followed her as she headed even further up, finally getting close enough to take her shadow. Her momentum carried her body to the ground as she was frozen, but unable to react to the impact.

"Alright, so where are you hiding Yellow?" He asked.

"Who's hiding?" She asked him, standing by a cliff face. Shadow Serpent just smiled as he approached.

"So, you've finally stopped running have you?" He asked.

"No, I've just done my part of the plan." She replied. Shadow Serpent looked around, seeing that here; he was surrounded on three sides by cliffs. Too late, he realised that he had been led here as Gia slammed a power card into her morpher. Smashing a fist into the side of the cliff, the rock cast upwards, reforming into a wall, which created a long shadow over them both.

"That won't save you!" He snarled as he hit Gia with a power blast, sending her crashing into a wall. "I may not freeze you, so I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned..."

Just then, he was cut down by the Robo Blade. Gia was quickly back to her feet, using her Tiger Claw to pin Shadow Serpent to the wall, keeping him from retreating.

"Alright Jordan, now would be a good time!" Gia told him. She looked back to Shadow Serpent. "This is for my girlfriend!"

Jordan had just finished attaching the Vulcan Shot to his blaster, and levelled it at him.

"Knight Spectacular Victory Charge!" He called out. "Gia, clear out...NOW!"

Gia shoved off, throwing herself clear just as Jordan pulled the trigger. Unable to move quickly enough, Shadow Serpent took the full force of the hit. What little was left of him fell to the ground lifelessly. Gia got back to her feet as Jordan came over to her.

"That...that was a little close." She told him. "Thank God you're a good shot."

"Look!" Jordan stated, seeing Troy and Emma starting to stir and run towards them. "The people he's frozen...they're turning back to normal!"

"It looks like good timing too." Gia responded, seeing Vrak summoning his Zombats.

"Great, that's all we need." Jordan replied, pulling out his Robo Morpher.

Back at the lab, Noah and Jake suddenly fell to the ground, finally able to move. The lab techs saw this and started to panic.

"Noah, what the...?"

"The others, they must have found a way to unfreeze us." Noah concluded, ripping wires from his suit.

"Full alert!" One of the lab techs screamed as soldiers started to pour into the room, before turning to them. "Stay where you are..."

"Yeah...we'd rather not." Jake stated. "As much as the hospitality's been great, we really need to be going."

"Tensou, send us to wherever the others are." Noah yelled into his morpher as the soldiers opened the bulletproof glass. "Um...now would be good!"

With that, Noah and Jake disappeared, leaving the lab techs and the soldiers dumbfounded. One of the soldiers just looked to the empty cell and gulped.

"The General is not going to like this." He said in a worried tone.


	8. Who Names These Megazords?

In the Command Centre, Cat fell to the floor as she finally unfroze. Tensou was quickly by her side.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I...I guess I'm alright." She told him.

"My name's Tensou. Gia told me to look after you." He informed her, heading towards a work table. "How are you feeling? Can I...?"

"I'll be fine, I'm just tired." She assured him. "Is there some way I can see Gia?"

"She is still in the middle of a battle." Tensou told her. "Please, let me examine..."

"I'd rather see Gia." Cat told him, crossing her arms defiantly. Tensou just turned and summoned a viewing screen for her to watch the battle.

"I suppose I can examine you later." He responded.

At the site of the battle, Jordan had summoned up the Knight Brothers Megazord, and was fighting for all he was worth. General Edwards was on a ridge with Dave and Sam as they watched the battle, listening to his radio while Sam scanned the battle.

"Sir, I think you need to see this." Dave told him, gesturing into the valley. General Edwards turned his attention to the other Rangers, seeing a bright flash of light, at which Noah and Jake suddenly appeared. He pulled out binoculars, checking more closely, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.

"They're here?" He asked. "But...they're statues in the lab."

"They look pretty lively to me." Dave answered, checking through the scope of his sniper rifle. "Um...maybe when that monster was destroyed the first time..."

"We'll worry about that later!" General Edwards snapped. "Dave, keep recording. I want as much data as possible on this."

"You got it sir." Dave answered.

Down on the ground, Troy, Gia and Emma all recoiled as Noah and Jake appeared.

"Whoa, where did you guys come from?" Emma asked. "Where were you?"

"We can worry about answers later." Jake assured them. "Trust me, we saw some pretty freaky stuff, but for now, it looks like Jordan could use our help."

As he said this, the Knight Brothers Megazord was send, sparking to the ground. The others all watched on in horror.

"Alright, now we're all here, we can really help him out." Troy stated. "Gosei Great Megazord..."

He was about to call out his Power Card, but there was a bright light, and a new card appeared in the air before him. It appeared before all of them, floating in the air. Each of them reaching out, they took the new cards, which flashed and showed an image of a new, larger Zord combination.

"Guys, something just got uploaded to my systems." Jordan told them over the communicator. "It looks like..."

"A new Zord combination." Troy cut him off. "We just got the cards."

"Well, in the absence of a better plan, I say bust out those new moves!" Jordan replied as Shadow Serpent smashed home another attack. "I don't know if you guys know but even as a Zord those attacks hurt!"

"OK, let's bring it together." Troy called out.

"Wait, you see the name of this thing?" Jake asked. "Gosei Great Grand Megazord? Who the hell names these Zords?"

"That would be Gosei." Noah sighed, shaking his head. "Now will you just shut up and go with it?"

"Gosei Great Grand Megazord!" They all chorused together. With that, every Zord they had collected all blasted forth, speeding too the battlefield. The auxiliary Zords buzzed Shadow Serpent, firing into him to keep him at bay while the Rangers leapt into their personal Zords, preparing for battle. Jordan struggled to his feet, activating his own morphing sequence. The Zords came together, forming into one massive Zord which towered over Shadow Serpent. The Rangers all appeared in the cockpit.

"Um...where's Jordan?" Noah asked.

"I'm back here!" Jordan called out. They all turned to see a face in the back wall.

"You're in the wall?" Jake asked.

"I become my Zord remember." Jordan grumbled. "So I get to see all of you get comfy seats and I'm part of the hull? Now I know how Gosei feels!"

"Alright guys, let's focus on Shadow Serpent." Troy told them. "It's time to hit him where the sun doesn't shine!"

He heard a groan from the others. Gia started banging her head on the control console.

"What?" He asked. "Jake gets to make puns all the time."

"Seriously Troy, I love you, but stick to what you're good at." Emma told him. "Let Jake have all the lame jokes."

"Hey!" Jake protested as they powered up their control consoles. It was only then that they saw the power levels they now had at their disposal.

"This is unbelievable." Jake stated as they led off the attack, using the Zord's spear to strike Shadow Serpent, not allowing him to regain his composure. "I thought our own Zords were powerful."

"You think that's amazing, I'm part of it! I feel the power!" Jordan told them.

"Let's switch it up." Noah added, after the attack from the Beetle Spear caused Shadow Serpent to howl in agony. "Manta Wave."

Replacing the Beetle Zord, the Manta Zord summoned up a tidal wave, which knocked Shadow Serpent to the ground. Troy smiled.

"Alright, time to finish this." He called out. "Crow Strike!"

The Manta Zord was replaced at the head of the spear by the Crow Zord, which split into three, forming a kind of trident.

"Victory Charge!" They called together, raking the spear downwards as Shadow Serpent tried to regain his feet. Powering up the tip until it was glowing white-hot, they sliced through him, destroying him utterly, leaving him in pieces on the ground.

"That...tell me you got that!" General Edwards called out to Sam as he put away his equipment. "The power readings...it's like nothing I've ever seen before!"

"Uh...sir?" Dave asked as he pointed upwards. "Is it just me, or...is it looking this way?"

"Best not take any chances." General Edwards replied as they ran for their vehicle. "Get us back to base. I have a lot of reports to write up."

In the cockpit of the Megazord, as the others were celebrating, Noah noticed some movement on the hill. He got a good look, and pointed.

"Jake, check it out!" Noah yelled. "It's the guys that took us!"

"Hey, yeah!" Jake agreed. "Those guys took us from the park!"

"Whoever they are, I doubt using a Megazord to stop an RV is going to do much to help our public image." Troy told them. "We can figure out what they're up to later. Right now, we'll head back to the Command Centre. After this, we can all use some time to unwind."

Back on Gosei's island, Gia took Cat outside onto the island. It was the first time that she had been on the island, and outside it. Indeed, to the best of anyone's knowledge, only Jordan and Troy had been outside the base on the island. At midday, as the sun was at the highest, casting warm rays over the cliffs and trees, and lit up the beach, Cat just looked out in wonder.

"It's...its beautiful here." She commented. "You must love it here."

"If I'm honest, it's the first time I've been outside the Command Centre." She told Cat with a smile. "Gosei gave me a lecture about bringing you here, reminded me that non-Rangers aren't meant to be here...he really wasn't happy when I told you that you already knew about us...I think he's still pretty pissed about it but I assured him you wouldn't tell anyone."

"What would have happened if you hadn't convinced him?" Cat asked her. Gia didn't answer straight away.

"I...don't think either of us really want to know the answer to that." Gia responded. "We should just be glad he trusts my judgement, even if it will be a while before he does so again."

Cat sat down on the beach, looking out over the ocean.

"So, where exactly are we?" She asked.

"I honestly don't know that either." Gia replied as she sat with her. "We've only ever teleported here. He never told us where the island is...I guess he thought it would be more secure that way. You know, kind of like, if someone caught us, we couldn't tell them stuff we don't know."

"I guess that makes sense." Cat sighed in agreement. "I'm probably never going to come back here am I?"

"I think Gosei would prefer it if this was a one-time visit." Gia told her honestly.

"Then I guess I better make the best of it." Cat told her, turning to face Gia, putting her arm around her. "I love you Gia. Thank you for all of this. You are so amazing..."

She just looked at Gia for a moment, unable to find the words. Eventually, she just drew in, kissing Gia deeply, locking her into a long embrace. As they parted, she was smiling brightly.

"I am the luckiest girl on Earth." She told Gia. "How many people can say they managed to get the girl of their dreams first time?"

"Not many." Gia answered as she held her girlfriend softly.

Back in the Command Centre, Jake and Noah were relaying their story to Gosei, Tensou, Jordan, Troy and Emma about their kidnapping.

"I'm serious; it was like something out of one of my Sci Fi movies." Jake told them. "They had all these weird wires and machines attached to us and all these guys in white coats..."

"Did they find out who you were?" Troy asked, interrupting Jake. Noah shook his head.

"They said their tech couldn't penetrate our suits, they could only track our vitals through the material." Noah told them. "One of them tried to open my helmet, but it seems Shadow Serpent's spell froze the latches when it froze the rest of us."

"That's one thing at least." Emma said in a sigh of relief.

"I for one am just relieved they couldn't get those suits off." Jake told them. "Something tells me those wires would have been attached a little more intimately if they could get those suits off."

"So what do you think they wanted?" Troy asked.

"They said something about being interested in our tech." Noah recalled. "The one that tried to take off my helmet said so."

"Any idea who these guys are?" Emma asked him. "I mean, this doesn't sound like the kind of thing anyone can put together..."

"One of them said they were putting in a call to Washington." Jake remembered. "You don't think...you know..."

"What?" Troy asked him. "The Government?"

"That doesn't make sense." Jordan replied. "There was a team created by a branch of the Government, the Lightspeed Rescue team. Why would they want more Ranger tech?"

"I don't think it's the tech they want." Emma suggested. "I think...maybe it's us."

"Us?" Jake asked.

"I heard that there was a private citizen in San Angeles that made a Ranger team, Dr Hartford." Emma pressed on. "I remember he was Time man of the Year when his Ranger team saved the world. He said in the interview that his tech was patented, but he was only allowed to keep it on the condition that he didn't re-create his destroyed Zords. The Government aren't really too fond of private citizens having powerful weapons tech in their basement."

"You've got to admit, the power some of our weapons have can raise a lot of hell in the wrong hands." Troy conceded. "Hell, sometimes it raises hell without us meaning to."

Jordan shifted a little uneasily, realising that while they'd all had their mishaps with their weaponry, his had caused more than his fair share of destruction. If the Government did have their doubts about the Rangers, then he had to shoulder a lot of the blame.

"This is a troubling development." Gosei stated with authority. "You were chosen because you were judged to be the ones I could trust the most with these powers. The interference of your human government..."

"Um...can I suggest something?" Jake asked. "Would it really be the worst thing if the Government knew?"

"You're going to have to run that one past me again." Noah stated as Gia and Cat came back into the room. "I must have missed the point when a couple of hours ago had wires hooked up to us like lab rats!"

"I'm being serious!" Jake stated. "Maybe if they knew who we were, they could help us. You know...better training facilities, a little more leeway with the press and the authorities, maybe even a salary to help us concentrate on the whole monster business without having to worry about..."

"What did I miss?" Gia asked them.

"It looks like the Government's a little skittish about the Ranger weapons." Troy told her. "Well...more like they're not fond of people they don't know running around with those weapons."

"So like I said, maybe we let them know." Jake suggested again.

"Yeah, that's a great idea." Gia replied sarcastically. "I'm sure that they'll be full of confidence once they realise that the ones with their fingers on the triggers are high school kids."

"I actually don't think they will be too happy." Cat chipped in. "They might not like it."

"She gets sarcasm right?" Jordan asked.

"Maybe I'll just call up the President and ask him for the keys to the nukes." Gia suggested.

"Alright, fine, I get it." Jake grumbled. "So, what does it mean for us?"

"It makes it even more important that we keep our identities secret." Troy replied. "Ernie and Cat figured it out, and Spider...he might still be in a jar back there, but he knows who we are. Clearly we need to be a lot more careful."

"No arguments here." Noah agreed. "I think that guy was only half joking about using the angle grinder to get my helmet off."

"So not only do we have to save the world, but we also have to deal with senior year, AND worry about the Government trying to get their hands on us?" Gia asked. "That's just great."

"Well, no one ever said this Ranger thing would be easy right?" Jordan sighed. "Well, if that's everything, I need to get home. Dad's in town, so he'll probably try to make up for several months of not being able to tell me what a screw up I am and how I'm not doing anywhere near as well as I could."

"We should be going too." Emma said as he teleported out, gesturing to herself and Gia. "We...kind of have something to talk about with our parents."

"We'll drop you off on the way." Gia said to Cat, offering her a hand. Cat took it, holding it tightly as they teleported out.

"And I have to work." Noah told them with a smile.

"Wow, you're the only guy I know that can smile about a job cleaning up animal crap." Jake chuckled.

"Believe me, it's nothing to do with the animals." Noah replied as he left the Command Centre. Jake looked to Troy and gave a quick salute before they both teleported home.

Back on the Warstar ship, Vrak had been summoned to Malkor's throne room after Shadow Serpent's defeat. He bowed reverently as his mind raced for something to say. Malkor looked to him.

"Well, I would say your experiment was...an unqualified success." Malkor stated. Vrak just looked up, not knowing what to make of this.

"Sire?" He asked.

"In only one day, your creature managed to freeze two of the Rangers, and many of the other humans." He reminded him. "Perhaps this tome you paid so much for has its uses after all."

"So...you don't mind that the monster failed?" Vrak asked him.

"Certain teething problems are to be expected in experimental science. That's what you always remind me isn't it Vrak?" He asked. "I am sure that you already have something else in mind."

"Well...I do have something else on the drawing board." He admitted. "Though it will take a few days."

"As I understand it, the young humans go back to that daytime prison after the weekend." Malkor replied.

"You mean High School?" Vrak asked him.

"Yes, that's the one." Malkor stated. "That should help keep them distracted. I trust you will have something ready by then."

"I have just the creature in mind." Vrak answered; pleased that for once, Malkor wasn't angry after the monsters' failure. If anything, he seemed to take the fact he was close with his first attempt at utilising magic that he might be on the right path. He didn't doubt that he would be unlikely to continue to receive that courtesy though.

"Don't worry, you'll have your monster in a few days, just as you wish. In the meantime, it will give me the time to seek an even greater power." Vrak stated as he got back to his lab, and approached Zedd's codex. He turned to a page he had been looking at and smiled. "If you think I'd give over all the powerful secrets within this tome, you're very much mistaken Malkor. I'll bet that fool Zedd never knew he was within days of finding all the power he'd ever need."

Meanwhile, at the Goodall place, Eric got home, finding Louise sitting on the couch, waiting for him. He looked a little surprised to see her.

"Louise?" He asked. "What...?"

"I was hoping you'd know." She responded. "The girls invited me over."

"We...kind of ran out on the last dinner we were meant to have together." Emma said sheepishly as she came in from the kitchen. "Well, I did anyway. I just wanted to make it up to you."

"That's really not..."

"Yes, yes it is Mrs Moran." Emma answered. "Look, I guess it's no secret I wasn't really too...um...ok, let's call a spade a spade. I behaved like a kid. I had a tantrum and that's not cool."

"Emma, that's not..."

"Look, I know it doesn't excuse things but, I guess it was just strange seeing anyone with dad. You know, seeing him with someone that wasn't mom." Emma explained. "It's just been me and dad for a long time. Even when Gia moved in, it was different."

"I think Gia could use a hand with the dinner." Eric told them. Both Emma and Louise gave him a slightly unconvinced look. "OK, I can set the table."

As he left, Louise moved a little closer to Emma.

"I guess I can see where you're coming from." She told Emma. "I miss her dreadfully too. You weren't the only one that idolised Eleanor."

"Mrs Moran..."

"Your mom was the best friend anyone could ever have wished for." She continued. "She was the most amazing, strong, wonderful person I ever knew. I always envied her in a way. I guess if I was a little more like her, I would have had the strength to do things a little differently. Maybe things would never have gotten as bad as they did between me and Gerald. I'd have been able to admit to myself things weren't working and called it a day."

Emma felt a couple of tears in her eyes as she heard Louise talking about her mom. Louise put an arm around her.

"I don't know what'll happen between me and your father, its early days yet, but I promise you two things. Firstly, I'll never try and replace Eleanor. I know I never could, I wouldn't even try." Louise told her. "But we both love you and Gia too much to do anything that you're not ready for. If it's too much for you, then all you have to do is say so."

"It's going to be weird for a while, but I guess I have to accept the fact my dad has a life beyond me." Emma told her. "Could you just do me a favour?"

"We'll take it slowly." Louise assured her with a smile, hugging Emma tightly, overjoyed to hear that she was able to accept her relationship with her father. "You have my word on one condition."

"Anything." Emma responded.

"Call me Louise from now on." She insisted. "I don't really think Mrs Moran really fits."

"Hey, what's going on here?" Gia asked.

"I told your mom I'm OK with everything." Emma informed her.

"So how about you Gia?" Louise asked her daughter. "What do you have to say?"

"Let me think, is Eric, the guy who took me in and put a roof over my head better for you than the guy who kicked me out on the street with nowhere to go, then kidnapped and drugged me for a couple of days in the hopes of turning me straight?" Gia asked. "What do you think mom? If you're going to go out with anyone, I can't think of anyone better."

Gia joined Emma in hugging Louise. Eric came into the room.

"Uh, remind me, is it alright if the pot is bubbling..." He saw the scene unfolding and smiled.

"It's vegetables dad, it's alright if they boil." Emma laughed. "You only have to worry if there's no water in the pot."

"Then I guess it'd be fine if I joined in here?" He asked.

"The more the merrier." Gia said, extending an arm to invite him into the group hug. Eric was only too happy to accept.


	9. Invitation to a Barbecue

Gia was up early the following morning. She really didn't want to be awake so early on a Saturday, especially the final Saturday before they began their senior year, but she had something important to do. Her girlfriend, Cat, had delayed her departure as long as possible to spend all the time she could with Gia, but with only two days to go, and still needing to set up the apartment in LA, the time had come for her to leave.

Her brother had sold the car so they would have some ready cash for essentials when they got there, so they were heading out by Greyhound. Their coach left at seven sharp, so Gia had to get up early to be there to say goodbye. The coffee machine was on, courtesy of Emma. It wasn't such a huge deal for Emma to be up early. She kept some pretty unusual hours depending on the season. Depending on what plant life or animals she wanted to track and photograph, she was sometimes out pretty late, or awake insanely early. Gia could never understand how she managed it, and had regularly joked that she had to be part plant to manage.

"Good morning." Emma greeted her with that usual smile she always did when "zombie Gia" walked into the room. While Emma always seemed to be bright and alert no matter when she woke up, Gia was most definitely not a morning person. Waking up at eight for the school day starting at nine was hard enough, but much earlier than that, until she got her caffeine fix, she was pretty much asleep on her feet. Gia dragged herself to the table, her hair still damp from the shower, and sat down as Emma handed her a coffee. "Dad said he'd get us waffles on the way back from the bus station. He figured you'd prefer to get there as soon as possible."

"That would be good." Gia replied wearily, rubbing some sleep from her eyes as she took a sip of coffee. "This is pretty good stuff."

"It's fair trade." Emma told her. Just then, Eric walked in.

"OK, we're almost ready to go." He announced as he sat with the girls. He placed a hand on Gia's shoulder. "So, are you almost ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess." She grumbled. Eric just looked sympathetic.

"I felt the same way any time I had to head out of town on business." He told her. "Any time I had to leave Eleanor and Emma behind, it was always like this."

"Really?" Gia asked. "Is there anything that makes it better?"

"Of course there is." He told her. "When the one you love comes home."

He kissed the top of Gia's head softly.

"So, are we almost ready?" He asked. Gia finished off her coffee and nodded. She wasn't especially eloquent in "zombie mode", and wanted to save all her energy for getting her brain to work properly when she had to say goodbye to Cat. Getting up and putting on her jacket, she got up. Emma was right by her side, her arm around her. "Then I guess we should be going. If we get there in time, you might just have time for another coffee."

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Jordan was awake, and working out in his basement gym. He was pretty much always up early, even when he didn't have to be. His father had gotten him into the habit of a strict training regime from a young age, to the point that Jordan didn't really think anything of it anymore. He knew it was because his dad had high hopes that Jordan would sign up to the marines straight out of high school to go to college there, just like he had. It was something of a legacy in the Edwards family, but one that Jordan didn't really have any interest in. He had spent most of his youth on military bases, more than enough to know the downfalls. He knew enough to know that even though he wasn't entirely certain what he wanted to do with his life, he had no intentions of signing up.

"You're still dipping your shoulder when you punch." General Edwards stated as he came into the room. Jordan just rolled his eyes.

"You know, most parents start with Good Morning." Jordan said sarcastically.

"Well, it's still true." General Edwards told him. "You still haven't brought any of your friends round. I'm almost starting to think you're trying to keep them away."

"And why would I do that exactly?" Jordan asked, not even trying to disguise his cynical tone. "Let's face it dad, you don't really have the best track record when it comes to meeting my friends."

"I was alright with Eddie..."

"I HATED Eddie!" Jordan groaned. "He was a mean-spirited bully that you only wanted me to be friends with because you were sucking up to his dad when you heard a promotion was on offer."

"Well, what about Renee?" He asked. "She was a lovely girl..."

"She also had less brains than the average door stop." Jordan interrupted him. "If she'd managed to string together two interesting words in a row, I'd have thrown a parade in her honour! You only wanted me to start dating her because her dad was an ambassador!"

"Well, it's not my fault if you have poor choice in friends." General Edwards stated. "I'd just like to meet these ones since they've had at least some positive impact on you."

"Gee, thanks." Jordan sneered as he went back to his workout. "I guess it's nothing to do with my own hard work."

"Since this is the last weekend before the school holiday ends, you can invite them here. I'll put on the barbecue." He answered as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I think we..."

"Why don't you just ask them?" He suggested with a smile. "I already have the meat defrosting. I'd be glad to meet them."

Jordan just kicked the bag as hard as he could as his dad left. He knew that this wasn't exactly an invitation. Any time his dad said he wanted to meet his friends, it was usually just so he could judge whether or not they were 'suitable' friends. Jordan had lost a few friends in his time after his dad made it clear that he didn't like them. Many of them just decided they couldn't be bothered with the hassle once they met his dad and were subjected to his unique charm.

"Why don't you go to that ice-cream place you keep telling me about?" General Edwards called down the stairs. "You said yourself your friends are often there. You could get some ice cream for dessert while you're there."

"Perfect." Jordan grumbled as he grabbed his towel and headed upstairs to shower. "Now you're going to find a way to make ice cream suck."

At the Greyhound station, Gia, Emma and Eric arrived, finding Louise already waiting with Cat. Gia came across, grabbing Cat in a tight hug as the others came to her side.

"We had trouble parking." Gia told her. "Your brother...?"

"He's just getting our bags loaded on the coach." Cat told her. "The rest of our stuff is being shipped; it'll be there when we arrive."

"Well, I'm glad you got here in time." Cat answered as she looked to Gia sadly. "You remember what we promised?"

"I'll e-mail you at least once a day." Gia replied. "And once a week, every Sunday without fail, we'll Skype."

"And you remember what you promised your uncle?" Emma asked. This was as subtle as they could be under the circumstances. The recent discovery that the Government, or at least a branch of it, had sent agents to investigate them had left the Rangers with no choice but to review how they dealt with things to keep their secret safe.

Although they had been careful up until now, and had guarded their secret, even with their own code, they had to acknowledge that unintentionally, three people outside the team and who weren't Rangers themselves, now knew their identities, having figured it out for themselves. Cat had figured it out shortly after starting to date Gia, Ernie, they had since found out, had figured it out from some overheard conversations shortly after they'd even begun their tenure as Rangers, and Spider...well...he'd found out by virtue of being turned into a monster that they still kept in suspended animation in the lab, hoping to one day turn him back to normal. They had agreed that "uncle" was code for Gosei. Before allowing her to leave the island, Gosei had to be convinced that she was able to be trusted with their secret.

"I remember. He doesn't need to worry." She answered, looking to Emma. "Do me a favour and take care of Gia will you? She can be a little careless at times."

"I will." Emma chuckled as Gia shoved her gently for the slight. Emma hugged her. "I'm definitely going to miss you Cat. You're definitely one of a kind."

"You too." Cat answered. As she looked to Gia, Eric coughed slightly.

"I think we should...be somewhere else." He stated. He, Louise and Emma moved away a little, giving Gia some space.

"I really wish things were different." Gia told her. "I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. I don't know..."

"It'll be alright." Cat assured her. "We'll talk all the time. I'm sure I'll have a ton to tell you about the new school. And I'm sure you'll have a lot to tell me."

"Yeah, just...as long as we both remember the code." Gia answered. If the Government was involved, they couldn't rule out the possibility that communications such as e-mails or phone calls would be checked for key phrases, and while they were perfectly confident that a lot of people talked about the Rangers and their battles all the time in Panorama, it was still better not to take any more chances than they needed to. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Me too." Cat answered as she pulled into a long kiss. They parted as she heard a shout, and her brother poked his head out the window.

"Cat, they're getting ready to leave!" He told her. Cat just nodded in understanding, putting a bag over her shoulder.

"Kay kay." She told him, looking back to Gia, cupping her cheek. "I'll be back before you know it, you'll see."

With that, she boarded the bus, making her way to her seat by the window next to her brother. She waved as the bus pulled away. Gia managed so summon the strength to wait until the bus was out of the depot and heading onto the freeway before her tears overtook her. Louise came to her side, and held her daughter tightly.

"Come on." Eric sighed. "Let's go and get those waffles."

"I think we'll need something a little stronger than that." Emma told him. "I think this is a job for Ernie's double chocolate shake."

"Whatever I can do to help." Eric assured them as they headed back towards the car.

Over at the Brainfreeze, Noah and Jake walked in, Noah looking decidedly nervous. He was dressed in a blue satin shirt and black denims. Jake seemed more excited than he did, fussing over him as they made their way to a table, where Troy was waiting. He was dressed in his training gear.

"So, ready for the big date?" Troy asked, seeing the way Noah was dressed.

"I guess." Noah responded, looking a little ill. "Are you sure this outfit's alright? Maybe I should go home and change..."

"Dude, its fine." Jake told him, putting a hand on Noah's shoulder and shoving him back down into his seat. "Quinn is completely crazy about you. She's spent months chasing you. You could turn up in a burlap sack and she'd be happy."

"Just try to relax. Have fun with it. That's what works for me and Emma." Troy assured him. "Take today for instance. We're planning on going for a run up the Black Mountains. There are some nests she wants to photograph out there."

"I'll get us some shakes while we're waiting." Jake replied with a smile. "Maybe it'll help you relax a little."

As he went to the counter, Gia, Emma, Eric and Louise arrived. They all took a seat with the team, except for Eric, who went to the counter to order. He tapped Jake on the shoulder.

"Let me get this one." He told Jake, who made his way back to the table, seeing Gia there. They all knew that this was the day that Cat was due to leave town, so they could understand that Gia was upset.

"Put your money away, this one is on the house." Ernie assured Eric. "I'm guessing double chocolate all round."

"Thanks Ernie." Eric answered as he put his wallet away. He knew that he and Gia were close, since he had been the one to take her in the night after her dad kicked her out of the house, and assumed that he just wanted to help however he could, knowing that she was upset. "We skipped out on breakfast..."

"I'll put the waffle iron on." Ernie assured him. "No charge."

"You're really spoiling her." Eric said with a smile. "I'm sure it'll be appreciated."

As he accepted the milkshakes and took them back to the table, Gia took hers and started to play absent-mindedly with the straw.

"Are you alright?" Troy asked. Gia just nodded wordlessly.

"I guess it's just sinking in." Gia told them. She looked across the table and saw Noah dressed up for his date. She managed to force a smile. "Well, I almost forgot, today's the big date isn't it?"

"I guess it is." Noah told her. "It's OK, I won't..."

"No, it's alright." Gia insisted. "Please, I'd like to hear about someone who's having a good day."

As he was about to speak, Jordan walked into the Brainfreeze with a large, older man. He was wearing a long, black, leather coat over a Marine Corps t-shirt, and black denims. He had a short, styled white beard and moustache, and white hair, but his height and build seemed out of place to his age.

"Jordan!" Jake called out, gesturing him over. Jordan looked like he almost wished he hadn't seen him. He started to come over with the stranger.

"Hey guys." Jordan greeted them half-heartedly. "This is my dad, General..."

"Please, there's no need to be so formal. Call me Jack." He stated, looking around the group. "So, you must be Jordan's friends."

"Troy, Troy Burrows." Troy introduced himself.

"Strong grip." He complimented Troy. "So, Jordan tells me you're something of a martial artist."

"I guess I..."

"Good build on you...have you ever considered signing up?" He asked. Jordan just rolled his eyes.

"Dad, please stop trying to press-gang my friends." Jordan grumbled.

"I'm Emma." Emma continued, introducing herself. "This is Noah, Jake, Gia, Gia's mom Louise and this is my dad."

"Eric Goodall." Eric introduced himself. Jack just looked to him, forcing a smile and shook his hand.

"Eric Goodall...you were in the corp. weren't you?" Jack asked him.

"That was a long time ago." Eric answered. "Jack Edwards...you were a Sergeant..."

"Well, things change and people move on. Some even move up." He answered. "Well, you're all here, so that's convenient. I have asked Jordan to invite all of you round, but he never seemed to be able to find a good time."

"Well, I'm afraid it isn't a good time for us. Louise and I have work to do at the office." Eric replied, getting up. "We'll see you at home Gia. Remember, we're only a phone call away."

As they left, Jack looked to the others.

"So, how about the rest of you?" He asked. "I have plenty of food, and you already know I have a great pool. How about it?"

"I...guess we could go on that run another day." Troy suggested.

"I have a date today." Noah said regretfully. "In fact, I should probably be going. I'll catch you all later."

"Well, I guess you can't keep the lady waiting." Jack said as Noah gathered up his stuff and left. "But I trust the rest of you will be there?"

"Um...actually..."

"Great, come around about four!" He announced, clapping his hands together with a huge smile on his face. "Perfect! Well, I guess you'll want to spend some time with your friends."

"Dad..."

"Then it's settled, I just have some ice-cream to buy. I'll see you all there." He concluded before anyone could say anything, he headed to the counter to get the ice cream leaving all five of them speechless. Jordan just sat down at the table and started banging his head on the table.

"Did...did your dad just press-gang us into going to your house?" Jake asked. Jordan just rolled his head to the side, looking at him from the table top.

"Welcome to my world." Jordan groaned. "By the way, I apologise in advance."

"He didn't seem so bad to me." Troy commented. "He's a little full on, but..."

"Trust me; you've only just met him." Jordan said in an exasperated tone. "You have no idea."


	10. At Home with the Edwards

Louise was sitting on the couch in the corner of Eric's office while he stormed around it, moving paperwork around, checking his computer and the like. She didn't need to be a mind reader to see that something was bothering him, the way he threw drawers open and closed, combined with how tense he was would have alerted her to it in and of itself. The fact he was even in the office on a Saturday was another. One of the reasons Eric had worked so hard to set up Cerberus was to get it to a point where it wouldn't encroach too much on his time when he and Eleanor started to talk about having a family. The first few years were hectic, but by the time Emma came along, he tended to leave the running of things to his underlings during the weekends. He only worked on weekends if he had literally no other choice, like if an important client absolutely insisted on his involvement in security matters on the weekend.

"Eric, can you please stop?" Louise asked him.

"Louise, I need to..."

"You need to ease up on the furniture." She stated as he slammed another drawer shut. "Look, what are we doing here? There's nothing important here that can't wait until Monday."

"Louise..."

"You forget that I work in your admin department." She stated, placing a hand on the documents he was holding. "All of these are receipts stamped as approved. Eric, you hardly ever work weekends, hell, you often don't even check your e-mail on the weekends! Just talk to me."

He sat down at his desk, and gave her a slightly defiant look. She just sighed and took the chair opposite, sitting across from him.

"I can't help noticing your mood and your sudden desire to come to the office began when you met Jordan's dad." She told him flatly. "I couldn't help getting the feeling you knew him. I also got the impression you weren't exactly pleased to see him."

Eric was defiant at first, but he saw that Louise had no intention of leaving this alone. He just sighed.

"OK, I didn't exactly know him, but I kind of knew him by reputation." He told her. "When I was still with the marines, he was a sergeant."

"But...he's older than you." She said with a slightly confused look on her face. "Weren't you a..."

"I outranked him, yes." Eric concluded. "His career had been pretty unremarkable, but he quickly got a reputation among the others in the corp."

"What kind of reputation?" She asked him.

"He had the kind of reputation that makes you pretty unpopular around the barracks with the other troops." Eric stated. "He had a pretty big hit for himself. He had a lot of ambition, and big ideas of where he should be, but he wasn't willing to work for it like others. He had a way of finding out what officers were talking about, and being in the right place at the right time to buddy up to them and volunteer for all the right high prestige missions. If anyone wasn't able to help him advance his career, he had a habit of cutting them loose pretty quickly."

"Really?" She asked him.

"He had a few nicknames around the base that were more than a little uncomplimentary, all of them relating to the fact he didn't really care who he had to step on to get where he wanted to go. Needless to say in a place where people relied on each other, put their lives in each others' hands, that didn't really sit too well with a lot of the guys." He continued. "After I left, I heard he advanced pretty quickly. Some said he's even bragged about a move into politics at some point. Knowing Edwards, if that's true, he's hoping to end up the White House."

"Well, that doesn't explain why you have to take it out on the furniture." She teased him, leaning across and touching his face softly. "Or why you'd rather be in here looking over paperwork that's already been done when we can be doing something fun. There's a new film at the cinema we could go and see."

"Edwards never did anything that wouldn't get him a step closer to his ambitions." Eric told her. "If he's in town, I doubt it's for anything good, and if he's going to be hanging around the girls..."

"The girls aren't exactly helpless. We both made sure of that." She reminded him. "I think you should just put this little paranoid episode aside and come to the cinema with me."

"I guess so." He responded, starting to put the papers back into order, before Louise put a hand on them.

"Leave it until Monday." She repeated, leaning in and kissing him softly. He just smiled a little.

"Alright, I guess the filing can wait." He conceded, heading to the coat stand for his jacket. He looked to her. "You know, not many people get through to me when I'm being difficult."

"You have met my daughter haven't you? She's easily the most hard-headed person on the planet when she wants to be." She chuckled. "If it doesn't work for her, what makes you think it'll work for you?"

He just conceded that point too, putting his arm around Louise as they left, hoping that she was right, and his feelings about Edwards were nothing more than paranoia.

Over at the Edwards house, General Jack Edwards was in his study, getting a little work done before his guests arrived. Of course, not all his work related to his mission for the government.

"So, the latest minor tectonic shift caused a strange radiation to register." One of the lab techs told him over the communicator as General Edwards looked over some files he had pulled up.

"Is it harmful?" Edwards asked him.

"No, as near as we can tell anyway." The lab tech informed him. "In fact...no one's even sure what it is. It isn't X-rays; it isn't Alpha, Beta, Gamma...as near as we can tell it isn't any known kind of radiation. That's what got us thinking that it might be related to the primary objective."

"Well, I'd rather not wait until a full-blown earthquake to find out." Edwards replied. "Do you know where it's coming from?"

"All we've narrowed it down to is somewhere in the Black Mountains." The lab tech replied.

"That's a pretty big area; we need to narrow it down." Jack responded. "Fit out Dave and Sam with some scanning equipment and tell them to head out there. Tell them to claim for all the overtime they need, but I want us to find that energy source first."

"Sir, we..."

"We need boots on the ground to get that power source first, and Dave and Sam are among the best, that's why I asked for them personally." Jack instructed the lab tech. "Don't worry about signing the checks; I have an understanding with someone in the Defence Department. Just tell them to get out there and don't come back until they have something to tell me."

"I'll do that sir." The lab tech replied as he signed off. General Edwards switched the equipment to take his messages and turned his attention back to his files.

There were certain advantages to his position, and people often turned a blind eye to certain abuses of his power. In front of him, he had five files, each relating to the Rangers...or rather, to their civilian counterparts. It was something he had done a few times when his son started to show particular interest in a group of people, just to try and steer him away from trouble.

He had started with their school records, pulling up all of their records to see if they would be a good influence on his academic record. From that, he got their addresses, and their parents' details. He had enough influence that with that limited information he could pull up all sorts of records to check out every detail of their lives. Employment history and records, medical histories, criminal records...that was before he even touched Google to just look for any mention of them in the local media or social websites.

He was pleasantly surprised by some of the results, beginning to think that maybe Jordan was learning, and had started to choose his friends a little more carefully. Starting with Jake Holling, he found that he was no superstar academically, but he was more than capable of maintaining a B average across most of his subjects. He had a slight dip in his grades in shop class, but his physical education grades more than made up for it. He had been the star striker on the school soccer team for a couple of years...well, that was a little problem since he had hoped Jordan would aspire to that position, but he guessed if Jordan tried, he could always take the spot. His mom and dad had good jobs, they lived in a nice neighbourhood, there was no mention of criminal records, and no sign of any major medical issues, there weren't even any debts to speak of. Their mortgage only had a couple of years left to run, and was looking like it was going to be paid off a few years early. Everything looked good on the surface.

He found the red flag though, finding a Juvie record relating to Jake. Apparently he had spent a few weeks in a juvenile hall the previous year relating to an assault on another kid which resulted in a serious injury. His disciplinary record from the school wasn't spotless, being mostly minor things, but he found one reference to another assault earlier in the year which led to an official warning and the threat of suspension. He just shook his head. It was just like his son to find and befriend the local thug.

Emma Goodall...he was interested to see what her deal was, and if she took after her father. He didn't need to look too far before he found that the apple in this case seemed to end up a fair distance from the tree. She was in the Environmental Club, she had a number of stories published in the school paper about environmental issues, and her name even appeared in the newspaper a few times, her photographs often being used in environmental stories.

Academically, her grades fluctuated between B's and A's, being just a little short of an A average. She didn't seem to have any extra-curricular activities to speak of, at least, nothing on paper. Her disciplinary record was virtually unblemished, only a few minor things, but nothing he wouldn't expect from an average teenager. There was only one thing about a protest when the school planned to bulldoze a tree to extend the parking lot where apparently she had chained herself to it and refused to move. Her father...he knew of his time in the corp., and he knew that since then Eric had moved into private security, starting his own firm Cerberus Professional Security. Financial records and medical didn't seem to show anything to be concerned about. His only concern was that she would influence Jordan with her idealism that he often referred to as "tree hugging". She was an attractive girl, and he knew that at Jordan's age, guys could occasionally be swayed by a pretty face, using something other than their brains to make their decisions.

Noah Carver...he wasn't coming to the barbecue, but Jack still checked him out. His school record was exemplary. His grades were only marginally short of perfect. He got A's across the board in all subjects except for gym. He did note however, that his teachers had remarked on a noticeable and dramatic improvement in those grades over the first few months of the year, just marginally too late to pull his grades up to a perfect score. He figured that had to be the influence of Jordan and his friends, people didn't tend to make such a drastic turn-around without some form of influence.

His check on his parental background troubled him a little more. His mother and father were in relatively low-paid, unimportant jobs. His dad worked in a convenience store, while his mother was a telemarketer. Their apartment wasn't in the greatest of areas, but it wasn't like they lived in the slums. He also found a record of Noah taking a job at a wildlife part recently. He could hardly imagine a kid being any more different to his parents, but that didn't mean Noah wasn't just a blip. In his experience, people tended to succumb to their blood in the end. That didn't mean he wasn't a good influence on Jordan now, he just hoped that he would maintain that during senior year. After all, Jordan could always leave him behind when it came time for college.

Troy Burrows...here, he found someone that he had high hopes for. He didn't show much interest in extracurricular activities at school which was a negative, however he did seem to have good grades, varying across the board between A's and B's. He found numerous stories of martial arts tournaments he had been in, and a number of accolades to his name. His parents, well...there wasn't much to say about them really. His dad ran a reasonably successful gym now, having worked in a few throughout the country, presumably until he raised capitol to start his own. His mom was a nutritionist, and worked in a health food shop. They didn't earn a huge amount of money, but it was a respectable life. They had a decent home in a decent area of town. He couldn't find any criminal records, all of their finances looked to be in order...he was starting to think his initial assessment of Troy was correct, he would make a great addition to the military, and was a great influence on Jordan. The others had their negative points, but it wasn't like they were all going to stay together forever. Senior year was only one year after all, but Troy...he was the kind of friend Jordan could do with more of.

That left the last, Gia Moran. As he was about to start reading though, he heard the door bell, and checked his watch, realising it was now four o'clock. Jordan and his friends had to have arrived. He just put the files aside and left the study, locking it behind him. By the time he got to the stairs, Jordan had brought Troy, Gia, Emma and Jake into the lobby.

"Ah, sorry I was just finishing up in my study." He told them. "Come in, make yourselves at home."

"Thanks Jack." Troy answered. "You have a nice home here."

"I try to make sure my son's provided for. Unfortunately I'm not around as often as I'd like to be." He responded. "Come through, the barbecue is just this way."

As they started to file through, he saw Gia wasn't looking too happy. He noticed Jordan stopping by her, speaking to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her. "You can always cry off if..."

"No, I'll be fine." Gia answered. "Saying goodbye was always going to be tough. Maybe Emma's right, maybe this will keep my mind off it."

Jordan just looked a little unconvinced, and just led her through. General Edwards just smiled as he followed them through.

On the Warstar ship, Vrak was checking over the maps and charts Lord Zedd had been working on, when all of a sudden his machines alerted him to something. He checked up the monitor, seeing the screen showing radiation readings.

"Interesting." He commented. "It seems the latest minor tectonic shift has opened up something...this energy...it is familiar..."

He looked to the research, and found something he was looking for. He smiled.

"The Black Mountains." He said with a smile. "I guess now I know why Lord Zedd never found it. He was looking in the wrong place."

He then went back to Lord Zedd's codex and held it up.

"It looks like I'm going to find that power sooner than I thought." He commented. "Now I just need to figure out how to find it in a whole mountain range. Still, once I have that power in my hands, all the hard work will be worth it."


	11. Making a Mess

In the back yard of the Edwards house, General Edwards was taking care of the barbecue while he watched Jordan and the others taking advantage of his hospitality. He had offered to let them use his pool, but they had politely declined, preferring instead to just play some music...well...what Jordan called music anyway...and hanging out at the edge of the pool. He turned over the prawn kebabs, and started to unwrap the steaks as he looked over to them, keeping an eye on them.

Gia was sitting at a table, periodically checking her phone. He saw Emma coming to her side, whispering something to her. He had already noticed that for some reason, she was less than happy about something. He satisfied himself that the first round of food was ready, and lifted the prawn kebabs, laying them on a plate before placing some burgers on the grill in their place. He took the place over to the table with a smile on his face.

"...They should be there by now, she should have called." Gia sighed as she looked to Emma.

"They only left this morning, I'm sure they had a ton of stuff to sort out." Emma said in response, looking to Gia sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll get that call soon enough, then you'll be bouncing off the walls, I just know it."

A little way off, Jake and Jordan were practicing with a soccer ball, preparing for if they were chosen to be on the soccer team. Jordan noticed his dad lifting something off the barbecue and gestured to Jake, flicking the ball up into his hands.

"Oh man, this is what I'm talking about." He called out. "I'm starving!"

As they made their way over, Jack put down the first of the plates. Everyone started to reach for plates as the first of the food arrived.

"Dig in everyone, the chicken drumsticks should be ready soon." Jack told them. "And I've got the burgers on; they should be out in a few. The steaks will take just..."

His words tailed off as he noticed Jake, the one who had made it clear he was incredibly hungry, wasn't eating. He saw Jake looking around the collection of salads and sides, his smile having slipped slightly.

"Is there a problem Jake?" General Edwards asked. Jake just looked to him, and shook his head.

"Um...everything seems to be...um..." He started to say. He didn't want to cause a fuss. Hearing this, Jordan just looked to the only plate that wasn't salad and realised the issue.

"I'll just go and check on the chicken." Jordan stated. "Dad, can you give me a hand?"

As they went to the barbecue, Jordan just gestured his dad in closer.

"Jake's Jewish dad." Jordan told him. Jack didn't say anything. As much as he had already looked up files about Jordan's group of friends, he didn't seem to have that information. He was sure that it must have been on his school or juvie records if he had any dietary requirements, but he didn't think to check that.

"He eats Kosher?" He asked. Jordan just nodded his head.

"That means that he can't eat shellfish." Jordan reminded him. Jack just picked up some of the drumsticks and put them on a plate.

"Well, it looks like these are ready." He responded, before heading back to the table. He put it down.

"I'm sorry Jake; I should have asked if anyone had any problems with the food." He said with a smile, putting down the chicken. Jake looked a little awkward as he took a couple of drumsticks. It wasn't as though he was ashamed of his heritage; on the contrary, he was proud of it. The one thing he always disliked was when he was singled out. He didn't want to be seen as making a fuss or causing hassle to his host. Jordan could see the look on his face.

"Um...thanks..." He replied awkwardly.

"I guess things are easier now than they used to be aren't they?" Jack asked. "Now there are laws that mean places have to provide options you can eat now aren't there? Schools, hospitals, juv..."

Jordan's eyes shot open wide as he realised where that was going. He looked around desperately for a way to stop his dad before he said anything. Doing the only thing he could think of, he grabbed the back of Gia's head, and shoved her face into a salad bowl. It ended the conversation, but as Gia straightened up, her face covered in salad dressing and some leaves, he had an entirely different problem.

"Jordan!" She yelled.

"Um...you looked like you could use a little salad." Jordan replied, giving her a mischievous little smile. He and Gia had something of a unique relationship. With both of them being naturally outspoken and having similarly dry senses of humour, they had a habit of winding each other up. There was nothing they seemed to enjoy more than pissing each other of just short of actually hurting feelings. "Maybe it'll cheer you up?"

"I know exactly what'll cheer me up!" She growled, getting up from her chair. Jordan took off running as she quickly started to give chase.

"They're at it again." Troy sighed, putting his arm around Emma. "Think we should save him?"

"We'll stop her before she kills him." She replied with a sweet smile, pulling into Troy. Jack took note of the body language. It looked like Troy and Emma were a couple. It wasn't ideal, since he was sure that while Troy was a good influence on Jordan, it meant Emma would be around for the foreseeable future. Still, he could satisfy himself with the fact that it meant he wasn't likely to do anything foolish like getting involved in a relationship with some wide-eyed, idealistic flower-girl.

He just gestured Troy over to the grill, handing him some tongs.

"Would you mind looking after the meat for a moment?" He asked. "I just have something I need to take care of inside."

Troy just shrugged and took over at the grill, while the others continued their party. He only looked up as Jordan's scream rang out, shortly before he was launched, fully-clothed into the swimming pool.

"I'll get him a towel." Emma chuckled, passing by Troy as she headed into the house. He just turned his attention to the meat, shaking his head and laughing. Sometimes, he wondered if Jordan would ever learn.

Meanwhile, over at the Black Mountains, Vrak appeared in his Earth Armour, but carried a cloaking device with him. He hadn't picked up any signs of the Rangers in the area, so he could only hope that he was more than a single step ahead of them. His pursuit of this new weapon was something that could easily turn the tide of his ambitious plans for the universe, but he was realistic. The only reason he was so close now was because so far Malkor appeared to be unaware of his intentions. If the Rangers were similarly ignorant to the new energies, then he had to take advantage of the head start while he had it.

All he knew was that the weapon he was seeking was somewhere in the Black Mountains, a mountain range a little way from the city. Of course that didn't narrow it down a lot. The whole mountain range extended for close to ten miles from north, another five east to west, and at its highest peak, was almost a full mile high. It was no small area of land to cover, and there were plenty of places to conceal something so small. The mountains had been created out of obsidian, lead and granite, all materials that naturally shielded magical energy, in order to hide it, but even now energy was seeping out, it made detection difficult, meaning that he had to find it the old-fashioned way. He couldn't even risk sending loogies or monsters after it, just in case information got back to Malkor or the mutants about the search. Sadly, there wasn't really much option other than going searching for it personally.

The readings from his scanner were affected by the terrain, but bringing it closer to the planet meant it would at least be able to lead him to where the magical radiation was strongest.

As he got his bearings, he started to make is way towards the signal, following his scanner. He knew it wouldn't be a short search, but for now, it looked like he had the upper hand.

Unknown to him, a little way off, Dave and Sam were searching, using similar technology. Sam just tossed aside a large rock and muttered under his breath.

"Sometimes I think the General is losing it." He commented. "This whole mission...shouldn't we have like a regiment or something?"

"Hey, the more guys on board with this, the smaller the slice of the pie for us when we get our hands on that weapons tech." Dave replied. "I don't know about you, but the promise of a Captain's salary is pretty enticing given the alternative. If we get what we're looking for, don't you want to be one of the ones in one of those suits?"

"You're not serious about this are you?" Sam asked him. "You really think that's what they're after?"

"Hey, I'm just realistic." He stated, swatting a bug that landed on the shoulder of his body armour. "If those Rangers had any intention of signing up, they'd have done so and been on salary long ago. You know the brief, either we get them to sign up and take orders from the bosses, or we make sure they're not a threat by any means necessary."

"Great, now all we need is to find a power source, when we're not even sure what we're looking for...in a mountain range the size of a whole city! He may as well have told us to look for it somewhere in America."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. Just think of the overtime pay the General's signing." Dave said with a shrug.

"Is that all you think about?" Sam asked.

"It's kind of hard not to after what happened in Kandahar." He told him. "If it wasn't for General Edwards, I'd still be in the desert taking pot shots at two-bit wannabe dictators for crappy pay."

"And I'd still be in..." Sam's words tailed off as he heard something. "...prison."

Both he and Dave were experienced soldiers, having taken part in many conflicts. They knew all about missions in unknown terrain. They pulled out of sight, shortly before Vrak showed up. He seemed to also be searching.

"OK, what do you think are the odds he's looking for this too?" Dave asked.

"Pretty good." Sam told him. "So much for..."

"Wait...he's leaving." Dave interrupted him. "Um...he kind of looks like he knows where he's going..."

"You're not serious." Sam said sceptically. Dave just smiled.

"Well, you said it yourself, this search was going nowhere." Dave stated. "I say we let him do the work, then take it for ourselves."

"In case you hadn't noticed, he's one of the aliens!" Sam snapped at him. "Do you think he's just going to hand it over?"

"What do you think I have this for?" Dave asked, patting his sniper rifle. "Strategy's above my pay grade. I'm just paid to follow orders and shoot stuff."

With that, he headed off after Vrak. Sam just groaned and followed him, hoping that their assumption Vrak knew what he was doing was correct.

Back at the Edwards house, Jack went back into his study, and headed back to his files. He had gotten a pretty good read on the others, but seeing the way his son was acting around Gia, he was desperate to get an idea of what she was like.

He grabbed the school record from the file, and started to read through it. He smiled as he started to check up on it. She had just a shade under a perfect GPA. Her grades were only a whisker under Noah's across the board on everything except physical education, where she also had excellent scores, including extra credit for taking Martial Arts...which as far as he could see she'd had some success in, attaining a black belt in Karate, and competing in a few tournaments. Her file was full of letters of commendation and merits from teachers. She had a number of academic achievements and certificates of merit. Her extracurricular activities appeared to be non-existent, but when he saw that she had a couple of early admission offers from some universities she had turned down, he quickly wrote that off as only a minor thing.

"Good grades." He commented, going to the disciplinary part of the file. There were a few blips on it, but nothing he wouldn't have expected from any high school kid. A comment or two about speaking out in class...there was one for a minor fight in her freshman year, but it was noted that she hadn't started that fight. She'd just come off better in it. "Not bad disciplinary record...good prospects for college...interest from the Ivy League? Impressive. Now, let's just check..."

He had found the names of the parents listed, and was about to move onto the other information he'd had pulled up when his communicator bleeped. He groaned and answered it.

"This better be important." He growled, throwing down Gia's file, spilling papers on the floor. "I said I didn't want to be disturbed..."

"We've got a lead on that power reading." Sam told him. "One of the aliens seems to be looking for it too."

Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

"Dad!" Jordan called out. "Dad!"

"I have to go, keep me updated." He told them. "Whatever happens, do not allow that hostile to gain that power. Use any means necessary."

"Heard and understood sir." Sam replied, signing off as Jordan battered the door again.

"DAD!" He called through. Jack just kicked the discarded papers under the desk out of sight, not noticing what was in them. If he had, he'd have seen a newspaper with the headline relating to Gia's kidnapping earlier in the year. He opened the door, finding Jordan standing there.

"You changed your clothes." He commented.

"Um...yeah, I kind of had to after Gia threw me in the pool." He commented. "The burgers are ready, but I know you don't let anyone touch the steaks but you."

He locked the study door behind him, going down the stairs with Jordan as they went back outside, feeling his spirits lifted a little. As they got there, Gia looked up.

"So, am I forgiven?" Jordan asked.

"I guess so." She told him. "I guess I do have to thank you. Seeing you like that really took my mind off..."

Just then, her phone bleeped. She beamed brightly and left, checking her message.

"Gia seems like a nice girl." Jack commented as he started to place the burgers onto buns.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool." Jordan said with a smile as his dad loaded up the burgers with cheese and condiments.

"Um...dad you should...dad! What about Jake?" He called out.

"I'm sorry?" He asked.

"The Kosher thing? He reiterated. "He can't mix meat and dairy!"

"Oh, right sorry I forgot." He responded, scraping the cheese off one of the burgers. Jordan just rolled his eyes.

"Sorry Jake, slight mishap with the burgers." He told him. "I'll make you a couple of fresh ones."

As Gia came back, she looked a lot happier. She came over to the barbecue, taking a burger.

"Well, you look a lot happier than you did before." Jack commented, coming closer. "I suppose it has something to do with my son's impromptu swimming lesson?"

"No offence, but I enjoy kicking his butt." Gia told him cheerfully. "He really took my mind off Cat leaving town."

"Who's Cat?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"Oh, Cat's my girlfriend." Gia informed him. "She's going to school in LA this year. I was kind of down about it. I guess I still am."

"Your...your girlfriend?" He asked, not knowing how to react. He forced a little smile. "Well, I imagine you'll have plenty to keep your mind occupied this year. You might find yourself forgetting all about this..."

"Um...I'm sorry?" Gia remarked, backing away from him.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to offend you." He replied, holding up his hands. "I just mean...you're young, and...It's only natural to experiment at your age..."

"Experiment?" Gia asked loudly, causing everyone to look up.

"I'm sorry, I just thought..." She saw the way he flashed a glance at Jordan, and glared at him angrily.

"Hey, he got that idea on his own!" Jordan protested. "I didn't say..."

"You think this is some kind of phase? Something I just decided?" She snapped at General Edwards. "You think I'm just going to suddenly decide I'm not gay because your son..."

"Hey, I never said anything!" Jordan protested again. "Dad, Gia's just a friend! I never thought of her that way!"

"I just...who ever knows what they are at your age?" He asked again.

"So you think I just chose this?" She asked. "You honestly think I'd have made a life choice that made my dad kick me out of my house? Made him kidnap me and try to 'straighten me out' like a lunatic? Do you honestly think I'd have made a choice that ended up costing me a lot of people I used to think were friends?"

"Gia..."

"You know what? I think I just lost my appetite." Gia stated, throwing her burger on the ground and storming out. Emma just went after her. Troy placed down his plate and passed by Jack.

"Gia's a friend; I need to see she's alright." Troy told him. "You have a right to your opinion General Edwards, but we don't need to like it. We'll see you around Jordan."

Jake put down his chicken drumstick, which turned out to be the only meat dish he could actually eat, and headed for the door.

"By the way, your chicken was dry." Jake stated as he left. Jordan watched them go, completely distraught. General Edwards just sighed.

"All this food gone to waste." He grumbled.

"Well dad, that's a new record." Jordan said spitefully. "It only took you three quarters of an hour to alienate all my friends this time!"

"Wait, you're blaming me for this?" He asked incredulously.

"Dad, that was totally humiliating! You completely embarrassed me in front of all my friends!" Jordan yelled at him. "Gia...I'll be lucky if she even talks to me again! I'll be lucky if any of them do!"

"Well, is it necessarily going to be a huge loss?" He asked. "You can do better Jordan!"

"You know that thing we do every few months where we actually talk about stuff?" Jordan asked in an impatient tone. "Yeah...let's not do that anymore."

With that, he stormed off to clean up the mess.


	12. The Black Mountains

**A/N:** Sorry for how late this chapter is...I've re-tooled this one a few times because I was unhappy originally with the pacing. The good news is that there is a fair bit done on the next as a result (it was moving a little quickly through "Ultra Power" for my liking), so hopefully that will mean there isn't such a long wait for the next chapter. Thank you for your patience.

Noah was sitting with Quinn in the Brainfreeze, treating them both to some ice cream after their day at the movies. They were sharing the largest banana split that Ernie had on the menu, one he had affectionately given the name "Cupid's Gondola", partly because it was served in a dish that was long and thin, and made the whole thing look rather like a gondola, but also because due to its size, it was far too much for most people short of professional competitive eaters or those with serious sugar problems to eat single handed, meaning it was a common sight to see couples sharing one. Noah paused for a second as Quinn posed him a question.

"You know, I guess I haven't thought about it too much." He stated. "I guess if I was to choose...I guess I'd like to have gills." He told her. "You know, because so much of the world under the ocean is unexplored. I think it would be great to see it."

"That's cool." She replied with a smile. "Me? I always wanted to have wings. I always thought it would be cool to be able to fly and see the world from all that way up? I think it would be great."

"I guess it would." Noah replied with a smile as he took another mouthful. "OK, next question. If you could go back and see anything in history, what would you...?"

His attention was grabbed as Gia stormed into the Brainfreeze. She was still completely irate over what had happened earlier at the barbecue. Jack's words continued to go around and around in Gia's mind. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before, since she was outed, while she had a lot of people support her; she also had a lot of people that didn't approve of, or understand what she was.

She had heard more than a few insults, and of course, she had even heard that inevitable question about her "lifestyle choice". Although it annoyed her immensely, she generally accepted the fact not everyone would like her.

She went into the corner, throwing her bag onto the couches, sitting down as Emma, Jake and Troy came in.

"She doesn't look happy." Quinn stated as she saw Emma and Jake sitting next to her, trying to talk to her while Troy went to order some food for them all.

"No, she doesn't." Noah replied. "They were all meant to be at Jordan's place."

"I won't mind if you want to go over there." She assured him. He just looked to her.

"But...I thought it was customary..."

"Please, she's one of your best friends. I know you won't be happy if you don't check on her."

Noah just smiled and leaned across, kissing her on the cheek.

"You are the best." He told her. "I'll make this up to you, I promise."

"I might just hold you to that." She said as he headed over to Gia's table. He sat with them, seeing Emma holding Gia.

"What happened?" He asked. "Was the General's party really that bad?"

"We kind of left before it had much of a chance to start." Jake sighed. "He said some stuff to Gia."

"Gia, please try to calm down." Emma told her. Jordan came in at that point, looking around for his friends. He saw them and started to make his way over, looking to them, gesturing frantically.

"I came as soon as I could." Jordan told them, looking to Gia. "Gia, please I'm so sorry about what dad said."

"What did you say to him Jordan?" She asked him. "Why did he think we were together?"

"He what?" Noah asked, looking to Jordan incredulously.

"It's not like that, I didn't say anything to him I swear!" He rushed out. "He must have seen the way we were messing around and...God only knows what goes on in his head, but he didn't get that from me."

He knelt down next to her, looking her in the eyes.

"Look, I know I don't have the greatest track record when it comes to stories I tell people." He conceded. "I know I've got a history of lying to make myself look good, but I never told my dad we were together. I never told him anything about you other than you're my friend."

"Jordan, do you have any idea what it's like?" Gia asked him. "What your dad said to me, it's not like I've not heard it before, but what really got to me tonight was the fact that you had invited me to your home."

"Gia..."

"I have to put up with stuff like that at times, but you're a friend. I didn't expect to have to defend myself like that." She stated. "I went there, expecting to relax. I didn't expect to be attacked like that."

"I know and I'm sorry. Now you know why I really don't like my dad meeting my friends." He said sadly. "Please, you have to believe me, all of you...the stuff he said...that's all on him."

"Jordan, for what it's worth I do believe you." Gia assured him. He smiled as he heard her say that. "I might think you're a bit of a dork, that you really don't think things through too much...I might even think you spend most of your day thinking of ways to drive me completely insane, but...I don't think you're a jerk."

"Jordan, we've known you long enough now to know what you're like." Troy agreed. "We know you can't be held responsible for what your dad does."

"That's right dude, everyone's embarrassed by their parents." Jake chipped in. "You should see my dad at family parties. He insists on dancing, but he has like no rhythm at all. It's embarrassing to watch. We're so different."

The others didn't say anything, just looking among themselves for a moment.

"What?" Jake asked, noting the silence.

"It's more than just embarrassing; it's also a little scary." Jordan told them. "A lot of people in the past have decided that they couldn't be bothered with the hassle. I was worried you wouldn't..."

"Jordan, you're one of us." Noah said comfortingly. "We're a team, but we're also friends. Nothing your dad says is going to change that."

Jordan just looked back to Gia, who just nodded to confirm this.

"I'll admit, I don't really like your dad, but I know that isn't you." She told him. "Besides, if you were off the team, who would I rip on?"

"Well, let me at least make up for this by paying for the ice cream." He told them. "We may as well have some fun tonight."

"You won't hear any arguments here." Jake replied, getting up as a good song came on the radio. "And since we were expecting a party, let's have one! Ernie, crank that music up!"

"Bring Quinn over." Emma told Noah. "We would love to get to know her better."

As Noah went to get her, Emma, Troy and Gia just watched Jake making a complete ass of himself, throwing himself around in his own unique way that looked like a combination between an epileptic fit, and a bizarre impression of an octopus.

"So...which one of us has to tell him?" Troy asked.

"Somehow, I think a delusion that deeply rooted will never be resolved." Emma giggled as Troy held her closely, watching Jake "dancing".

It was starting to get dark as Vrak reached another peak. His scanning equipment told him that he was getting close, but he knew that pretty soon, he would need to start searching by sight. He knew what he was looking for, and as such, he was aware that he could easily miss something important. Checking his scanner one last time to make sure he was close, he pulled out a beacon and rammed it into a nearby tree.

"The weapon has remained hidden all these centuries; I suppose one more day won't make a difference." He mused as he activated the device so that he could find this spot again. "I'll resume my search in the morning. Soon the power will be mine."

As he teleported out, Dave and Sam, who were still following him, came into the clearing. Dave checked out the beacon.

"See, what did I tell you?" He asked. "I knew that freak show with the claws was looking for the same thing we are. We've probably just saved ourselves a couple of days!"

"I thought you were just thinking about the overtime pay." Sam grumbled as he had a look around, holding his SMG closely just in case someone else showed up.

"Hey, overtime is one thing, but do you really think I wanted to spend days out here?" Dave asked. "I spent a fortnight looking through the Bora Bora Mountains, it gets old quickly. I'm done crawling over rocks for nothing."

"The signal's still strong, but it's kind of haywire. We must be close." Sam remarked. "We should press on."

"When we don't even know what we're looking for? Give me a break!" Dave replied, looking around. "You said it yourself; even that gizmo you're carrying is going nuts. We could be standing right on top of it and not even know."

"Then what do you suggest?" Sam asked him.

"We take a leaf out of Wolverine's book. We start up again tomorrow." He replied, reaching for his kit bag. "In the meantime, we look for somewhere out of sight to camp down for the night. If we start up at first light, maybe we can find whatever this thing is looking for before he has his morning coffee."

"Military Prison is looking pretty good about now." He grumbled as he looked out his sleeping bag and followed Dave to find somewhere to sleep.

In the Edwards house, Jack was in his study, looking up the information he had failed to read before meeting Gia, and had seen his mistake. He had only just gotten into her academic records when he was called away, so he hadn't gone further into her life. Although she had, on the surface, looked like ideal girlfriend material, and a good influence on Jordan, now he was starting to see that all that was just a front.

He didn't have to look far to find some pretty alarming material. Although her academics looked good, it seemed that behind the scenes, her family life had fallen apart. Before he even looked at the newspaper, it seemed that her dad had lost one of the best paying jobs in a local plant, and they had lost their home shortly afterwards. He checked up her father's arrest record, seeing the incident she was talking about. From what he read from the police interview, he had taken her somewhere together with a known group that advertised themselves as helping those who were homosexual 'exorcise their daemons'.

Shortly afterwards, her parents had divorced. From what he could see, their accounts were nothing to speak of, veering close to bankruptcy at times. He looked up as he heard the communicator.

"Talk to me Sam." He stated, activating the communications link.

"We've found a major lead; we think we might be getting close." He replied. "We're camping down for the night, and we'll start up again at first light."

"Alright, keep me posted." He responded. Just then, he heard the door bell. "I have some things to discuss with my son."

As he signed off, he headed down the stairs towards the front door.

"So, you're so grown up now that you don't need your old man huh?" He said as he approached the door with an arrogant smirk. "You're so grown up you run away when I say some things you don't want to hear, and forget your..."

He opened the door, finding Eric standing on the doorstep.

"Having problems with your son?" Eric asked. "I came by to pick up the girls."

"Both the girls? They both live with you?" Jack asked him. Eric just looked at him in a way that confirmed the detail, but made it clear that Eric considered it none of his business. "I'm afraid they all left. They stormed out a couple of hours ago."

"I suppose you didn't say or do anything?" Eric asked him, his tone rather cold. "I remember how your friends seemed to just...leave...at times."

"I can't be held responsible if people occasionally take exception to my opinions." Jack stated. "We live in a country with the right to freedom of speech. You used to fight for that very right if you remember...up until you decided to take all the skills our government taught you and make easy money in the private sector."

"You're calling me a sell-out. That's original." Eric said with a small, derisive laugh. Private security had something among a reputation among the military. A lot of times, when someone left the military and went into private security, it was simply a pseudonym for becoming a mercenary.

"Well, I didn't say that, but if that's how you want to take it, I guess I can't help that." Eric replied with a shrug. "I just think..."

"You know what? I really couldn't give a damn what you think about me Jack. I didn't when we were in the corp. together, and I sure as hell don't now." He put down flatly. "And for the record, your right to freedom of speech isn't a licence to be as obnoxious as you like, especially with my family."

"I don't know..."

"If for some reason the girls do come around here again, I expect you to keep a civil tongue in your head." Eric interrupted him. "I don't care how things work in your family, but if anyone harms one of my family, things don't end well."

"Are you threatening me?" Jack said defiantly.

"If that's the way you want to take it, then I can't help that." Eric replied, aping Jack's earlier words as he headed back to the car. "I have an idea where I'll find them. If I see Jordan, I'll send him home."

The next day, Gia was woken very early by a loud bleeping. She fumbled around on the bedside table, but when the alarm clock didn't stop no matter how much she hit it, she realised that it wasn't her alarm.

She got up, rubbing her eyes, and shuffled across the room towards the source of the sound, finding it was coming from her backpack. She reached inside and pulled out her morpher, answering it.

"This better be important Tensou." Gia mumbled wearily. "It's the last day before school starts back. I should be sleeping until noon."

"Rangers, report to the Command Centre immediately." Gosei ordered, completely ignoring Gia's comment. "You are required for a vital mission. The fate of the world is at stake."

"Why can the fate of the world never be at stake after midday?" Gia moaned as she started looking out some clothes. As she was just finishing putting on her boots, Emma joined her.

"Gia..."

"I got the message." She replied. "Your dad...?"

"He's still asleep." Emma assured Gia as they came together. "I left a note downstairs."

"Then I guess we better not keep the big Tiki waiting." Gia replied as they teleported into the Command Centre. Troy, Jake, Noah and Jordan arrived shortly afterwards, assembling before Gosei.

"OK Gosei, we're all here." Troy announced. "What's so important Gosei?"

"As you know, my mentor Zordon has had many allies in his war to keep this galaxy safe." Gosei began. "Millenia ago, Zordon was allied to Graegoras, the Father of Dragons."

"Dragons?" Gia asked.

"The race of dragons were some of the most powerful magical creatures that ever existed. Graegoras was the first, and most powerful of his kind." Gosei continued. "As the ancient volcanoes cooled and became dormant though, the heat of the sun was no longer able to provide them all the heat they needed. They fell into slumber for longer and longer, and between age and battles against evil, their numbers dwindled."

"So...why have we never found any evidence of dragons?" Noah asked him. "Why are there no bones or anything?"

"As magical creatures, the normal laws of nature do not apply to them. When they die, their life force returns to the planet." Gosei explained. "However, in the case of Graegoras, he felt that his spirit could serve the earth better as a weapon for use in times of great need. He turned himself into a weapon with his dying breaths, forming a weapon known as the Wild Sword."

He generated a glowing image of the sword before them. It looked almost real, like they could reach out and touch it. It had a short blade, with a broad point, and a long handle with a stylised hand guard. It ended with a dragon's head motif, the mouth open at the end. It was a dull, grey colour.

"The sword was hidden in the Black Mountains millennia ago by Zordon and his ally, the Sentinel Knight to prevent it falling into the wrong hands until the day a worthy warrior could commune with the spirit of Graegoras and harness his power for the forces of good once more." Gosei continued. "However, the recent earthquake has caused the sword to surface. You must find it before anyone else can attempt to harness its power."

"Alright, so we find the sword and bring it here." Troy stated flatly. "Where is it?"

"Zordon and the Sentinel Knight formed the Black Mountains over it to conceal it." Gosei informed them. "You must find it."

"Wait...did you say the Black Mountains?" Noah asked. "Can't you narrow it down? That area's huge!"

"I guess we better get started then." Troy sighed, looking to Emma. "It looks like we get that hike up the Black Mountains you wanted."

"Rangers, please hurry!" Tensou called out as they prepared to teleport out. "You must get that sword before it's too late!"

"Relax Tensou, we got this!" Jake replied, looking to him. "Stop being so...tense!"

With that, they disappeared, leaving Tensou and Gosei to monitor their progress.


	13. The Wild Sword

Back on the Black Mountains, Vrak teleported into view as Sam and Dave found somewhere to conceal themselves. He had another monster with him. This one was a strange looking creature, black, with numerous deep red eyes. He went to the tree and ripped out his beacon.

"The energy readings are even stronger now, that aftershock last night must have shaken it free." He stated, looking to the creature. "We can no longer presume we're the only ones searching for it. Soon the Rangers will be coming."

"You know I'm ready for them." The creature replied. "The power you gave me..."

"Just ensure they do not hinder my efforts Distractor." He replied harshly. "I will contact you if I need you."

As Distractor left, Vrak turned his attention back to his search. He knew he was close, and the last thing he needed was to get this close to attaining the Wild Sword only to see it slip through his fingers. He started up his scanner, resuming his search.

Elsewhere on the Black Mountains, the Rangers appeared half way up the tallest mountain to begin their search. Although Tensou had now been able to find the magical radiation with his scans, like Vrak, he wasn't able to get a firm fix on its location, and so had no option but to teleport the Rangers as close to it as he could. It gave them a place to start, but they still had a huge area to cover.

"Alright guys, this trail looks like the best way up." Troy stated, pointing up a pathway. Noah checked his handheld scanner and nodded to confirm that the signal was getting stronger.

"It looks like we're heading the right direction." Noah told them as they started to walk. Jordan was bringing up the rear.

"This sword must be a really big deal." Gia stated. "Tensou seemed really worried."

"Trust me, I got him." Jake assured her with a smile. "I set him straight."

"Well, I guess we should just start calling you the Robot Whisperer then." Gia commented. Jake just laughed.

"Rangers, Rangers, the world is in peril, you must hurry." Jake said, doing his best impression of Tensou. "That little dude seriously has to chill out or he's going to start frying his circuits."

"Jake, Tensou just cares." Gia replied.

"I love you Rangers; you're all my best friends." Jake mocked in his Tensou impression again. "Come on Gia, all that's just programmed into him. He's a robot, he doesn't have feelings."

"Jake, that's a little dismissive." Jordan stated. "I mean...I'm the Robo Knight, but I know I..."

"Technically, you're a cyborg, not a robot." Noah told him.

"Well, I still think he's being mean." Emma chipped in. "I mean, Tensou's always been there for us, it's not right to make fun of him."

"Aw, I'm only teasing Emma." Jake assured her. "Tensou's cool. You know how we all rip on each other; I wouldn't bother if I didn't like the little guy."

Just then, they all snapped around as Distractor showed up. He leapt into view, smashing Jordan aside, sending him spinning off the trail and down the side of the cliff.

"Jordan!" Jake called out, but he was relieved as he heard a clash of metal on stone. Looking over the edge, he could see that Jordan had called forth his armour, likely saving his life, but he was now tumbling down the cliff face, bouncing off the ledges as he went. The Rangers all looked to Distractor.

"Sorry, but this trail is closed for the day!" He sneered.

"I guess that answers the question if we're the only ones looking for the sword." Troy stated. "Alright guys, let's make this quick. We need to get that sword before Vrak."

"Go Go Megaforce!" They all called out as they morphed, rushing into battle. Jake swung for him first, at which Distractor went flying.

"Oh..oh, that hurt so much!" He said as he fell to the ground, clutching at his arm, writhing around like his arm had been amputated. "I'm in so much pain, please stop!"

"Um...did we even touch him?" Jake asked, looking to his Snake Axe. "I barely felt anything."

"Whatever, we need to finish this quickly!" Troy responded, leaping at Distractor, cutting him down with his Dragon Sword. "We have to get that sword before Vrak!"

Troy though just looked at his sword, completely confused as Distractor flew into the side of the mountain, before rolling around on the ground, clutching his arm. Just as Jake had insisted, he felt like he had barely hit anything at all. In fact looking at Distractor, he was trying to remember which arm he even hit; he could swear he was holding the wrong arm.

"Oh dear, I'm in agony, for the love of humanity please stop!" Distractor said, continuing with his performance. "Help me Vrak, please, help me!"

An energy wave went out from him, and the Rangers all looked around in confusion as they found themselves in the city.

"What the hell?" Gia asked, spinning around to get a good look. "He sent us back to the city?"

"He's probably just buying his boss time." Noah told them. "Look, Zombats!"

"Look, he's growing already!" Emma called out, pointing upwards. "At least he's getting this battle moving quickly."

"Let's call up the Megazord!" Troy instructed them, pulling out his morpher and his Megazord card.

"Gosei Great Megazord!" Troy, Noah, Jake, Emma and Gia called out together as they slammed home their cards. Before long, they were assembled in the cockpit, preparing for battle.

"Go ahead, form your Megazord!" Distractor called out. "Give me everything you've got!"

As they rushed forward, and swung a punch for him, Distractor waited for it coming. Smiling as it came, he threw himself backwards just out of reach, falling to the ground. He grabbed his jaw as he flailed around.

"Oh, no, my jaw, my aching jaw! I think you broke it!" He called out.

"Um...that time I didn't feel anything." Emma stated, looking to her hands. The Zords generally took the worst of the impact, but they sent a vibration through the controls to let the Rangers know when one of their attacks hit.

"Maybe this guy's just a wuss?" Jake suggested. "I mean, he is just a spider. I've lost count of the number of them I've squashed over the years."

"You Rangers are far too powerful for me." He commented. "I'll just need to call up some reinforcements!"

With that, he created a huge mist around him. The Rangers watched as some frighteningly familiar faces appeared.

"Psychotick?" Gia asked, seeing the fallen Mutant appearing. "Hisser?"

"Badgrun and Priest too!" Noah called out, pointing to two others. "They...this is impossible!"

"Didn't we already toast these guys?" Jake yelled as Priest swung around his plague flail, smashing it into the Megazord's chest, sending them staggering.

"It looks like they've pulled another page out of Lord Zedd's playbook." Troy told them. "Alright guys, as strange as this all is, we're just going to have to take them down again."

Elsewhere, Vrak studied his scanner carefully as it started to bleep at him frantically. He could tell that his search was nearly at an end. Switching the device off, he put it away as he started to look around the area. It was clear there had been a rockslide in this area, caused by the earthquake. He started to make his way towards a pile of rubble, inspecting it thoughtfully.

"I'm close." He mused, before noticing one rock that seemed to be different. It wasn't naturally shaped, like it had been carved or forged somehow. He took a few steps back, before firing off an energy blast, sending debris flying in all directions.

As the dust cleared, he found himself smiling as he saw it sitting before him. The Wild Sword, the ancient blade was only a couple of feet away, lodged into a stone in the ground. On it, he could see carvings, in an ancient and long forgotten language, likely a warning of some kind. However, standing so close to the sword, he could feel the power coming from it even at a distance. He had come much too far to worry about warnings.

From their vantage point, Sam and Dave were watching in disbelief. Sam checked his scanner, but it sparked and eventually went dead.

"The power...its way off the scale! The scanner's fried!" He told Dave, looking to the Wild Sword. "It's that sword, it has to be!"

As Vrak started to approach, Dave took his sniper rifle from his back, and started to ready it. He loaded a shell into the side.

"What the hell is that?" He asked.

"Special rounds, courtesy of the lab geeks." He informed his partner, cocking the rifle and setting up his shot. "You didn't really think I'd risk trying to take him down with a simple bullet did you?"

He crouched down, resting the rifle on a rock, and started to line up his shot as Vrak approached the sword.

"He' going for it." Sam told him. "If you're planning on doing something, now would be a good time."

"I just need a little second..." Dave told him as Vrak reached for the sword.

Vrak reached for the Wild Sword, but as he did so, his hand was rebounded aggressively in a flash of bright light, and he howled in pain. Dave saw this and shouldered his weapon, realising that they now had another problem.

As Vrak reached out for the sword again, this time more slowly, he felt his hand touching against an energy field, which burned him to the touch. He growled in frustration.

"So, it seems the spirit of Graegoras has one last obstacle to overcome." He grumbled in frustration, realising how close he was to attaining the sword. "I suppose the sword wasn't meant to be drawn by just anyone. Perhaps I can have someone else do it for me."

Elsewhere, Jordan had just finished climbing back up the cliff to where Distractor had attacked him. After taking a long fall all the way to the bottom, and having to climb back up, he was in far from a good mood.

"Right, I hope you've saves some of that guy for me!" Jordan snapped. "I'm in the mood to start pulling off that spider's..."

His words tailed off as he looked around in confusion.

"Legs?" He asked, finding no sign of Distractor. What he did see though was even more confusing. The Rangers were all sitting on the ground.

"Um...guys?" He asked. Just then, he heard them screaming and saw them flailing like they were under attack, but looking around, he couldn't see any sign of anyone.

"They're surrounding us!" Gia called out, shielding her face. "There are so many of them!" Jordan just looked at them, completely astounded.

"Gia, there's no one there!" Jordan stated, looking around as he approached them. "Come on guys, what are you...?"

As he got closer, he could see them all holding their hands out, and remembered seeing them sitting like that before. They were even in the right positions...it was like they were in the cockpit of their Megazord...or at least, it seemed like they thought they were.

"Guys? What's going on?" Jordan asked. "Can you even hear me?" He didn't get an answer though, the team just continued to recoil and yell like they were under attack.

"Tensou?" He asked over his communicator. "We have a problem! The guys seem to think they're in a Megazord battle."

"It sounds like they're under a spell." Tensou replied. "You have to snap them out of it."

"But how?" Jordan asked.

"Switch your visor to full spectrum." Tensou instructed him. "It'll open up all spectrums of light to you. It'll show you any illusions in the area."

Jordan did as he was told, and just as he did, he saw that the Rangers were in a huge, glowing dome of power. Inside it, walking among them was Distractor, occasionally striking them to give the effects of the simulated battle.

"I see him." Jordan replied. "What now?"

"You must destroy the illusion." Tensou told him.

"I'm on it!" Jordan replied, rushing forward.

Inside the bubble, the Rangers were suffering at the hands of their tormentors. Some of the toughest monsters they had faced all brought back, and united against them.

"Guys, we have to end this, the Zords can't take much more!" Troy told them. "Victory Charge!"

As they called forth their ultimate attack though, the Rangers looked on in horror as it passed straight through all of their attackers, leaving all of them unharmed. Distractor just cackled insanely.

"You can't harm them Rangers, they're already dead!" He taunted them. "Of course, they can harm you though!"

They felt another huge hit as Badgrun raked them with his claws, knocking the Megazord down. They struggled back to their feet.

"You Rangers are finished! By the time Vrak gets the Wild Sword, he won't even need it!" Distractor laughed, taunting them. Just then though, they saw him being hit by laser blasts.

"Don't worry guys, the cavalry's here!" Jordan called out as he stepped into the energy bubble, coming into the illusion. Not being part of the illusion though, he appeared normal. They Rangers all stared as they saw a one hundred foot version of the Robo Knight charging towards Distractor.

"Wow, did you guys see that?" Noah called out. "Jordan, you're huge!"

"I didn't know he could do..."

"It's an illusion! He's cast some kind of spell!" Jordan told them, swinging his Robo Blade through Priest, who disappeared in a thin, dark mist. "You're not even in the Megazord!"

He saw Distractor and fired his Robo Blaster, sending him to the ground. The background disappeared, showing the Rangers that they were still in the mountains. Jordan switched his weapon back to the Robo Blade and attacked Distractor viciously, hammering into him with his sword.

"What...what are we doing on the ground?" Emma asked. "Were we just sitting here in the dirt the whole time?"

"We should have known!" Noah grumbled. "His acting was worse than an Australian soap opera!"

"Well you guys get going, I'll give him a lesson in method acting." Jordan replied, continuing his assault on Distractor.

"Jordan..."

"Don't worry about me, you're obviously close!" Jordan stated as Distractor started lashing out with long, whip-like claw attacks, which he dodged expertly. "Vrak's obviously stalling for time! I'll take care of this guy; you go and get that sword!"

As he ran off, the others just looked to Troy.

"You heard him." Troy stated. "We can help him later. Let's get that sword."

They ran off, heading up the cliff through some trees as Jordan dealt with Distractor. Something inside Troy stirred; he could feel the power they were searching for calling out to them.

"Guys, we're close, I can feel it!" Troy called out.

"I feel it too." Jake answered as they ran through to a clearing. As they got there, they found Vrak waiting for them. He turned towards them, waiting for them to arrive.

"Vrak, he's already here!" Gia called out.

"You're too late Rangers, that sword is mine!" He responded, his claws sliding out of his arm guards as he prepared to attack. "Get out of my way or I'll make you suffer!"

"You're never getting that sword!" Emma screamed at him as the Rangers attacked. "It belongs to the people of Earth, not to you!"

"Nice blades!" Noah yelled at Vrak as he fired his Shark Bowgun, rebounding blasts off his armour to distract him. "I bet you're extra careful when you're picking boogers out your nose."

"Personally, I'd be much more worried about going to the bathroom." Jake replied as he jumped in with his Snake Axe, hammering into his guard. "Can you imagine him wiping his...?"

"Guys, seriously?" Gia interrupted them, uppercutting him with her Tiger Claw as Jake spun away, taking up position by her side.

"You Rangers haven't beaten me!" He answered as he regained his composure from the attack, mopping some blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. He disappeared without another word.

"Just like Vrak." Jake stated. "He talks tough, and then goes home."

"Well, at least the Wild Sword's still here." Noah replied as they turned around. "Now's our chance to..."

His words tailed off as he watched Dave and Sam breaking cover, running for the sword. The Rangers all watched as they passed through the force field which just allowed them to pass, dissipating.

"You're kidding me!" Jake snapped in a fit of temper. "Those are the guys that kidnapped us!"

"Thanks for getting rid of the big ugly one for us." Dave taunted them, standing next to the sword. "Now, we'll just be taking this..."

"You can't!" Troy interrupted him. "You don't know what you're dealing with!"

"I know that power like that is best kept in the hands of people we can trust to use it." He replied as Sam grabbed the sword with both hands, beginning to try and pull it free. "Now, if you want it, we could always talk about you enlisting..."

"Dave, we have a problem here!" Sam told him. "The sword won't come out!"

"What?" Dave asked him.

"It won't move!" Sam replied.

"Well...use some explosives or something!" Dave told him.

"Wait...it's coming now!" Sam said with a smile, before pulling it free. "Yes, we've done it! That promotion is as good as..."

Suddenly, the Wild Sword let out a huge roar, shaking the mountain, and started to thrash about. It threw Sam to the ground and flew up into the air, snarling at all of them.

"The Sword, it's full of rage!" Troy commented.

"Well, wouldn't you be?" Noah asked him. "It's been sleeping for centuries waiting for a worthy warrior, only to be woken by these two douchebags!"

Suddenly, an energy whip wrapped itself around the sword, and pulled it down. The Rangers watched as Vrak, who was now wearing a massive, dark metal armoured gauntlet, seized the sword.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude!" He stated, looking to Sam and Dave. "I knew that Graegoras would never allow me through that force field, I needed a human to do it. That's why I didn't just destroy both of you while you were following me."

"Wait...you knew we were here?" Dave stammered in panic.

"Now, I have the sword, nothing can stop me!" He called out.

"That sword will never be yours!" Jake replied as the Rangers all charged towards him. Vrak instinctively swung the sword. The power of the gauntlet he had created sent a wave of dark magic through the sword, forcing Greagoras to unleash his power with a pained cry. The Rangers all flew back several feet, and even through the suits, it felt like they'd been hit by a truck. None of them were ready to move. Dave and Sam just looked to each other and ran away as the Rangers struggled to get back to their feet.

"That gauntlet...he's able to force Graegoras to do his bidding." Emma said in horror, hearing the pained cries of the sword as he inspected it.

"Another gift from Lord Zedd. He had a way with dragons." He taunted them. "He even gave one to his wife as a pet once. Now I control the power of the Father of Dragons! I am unstoppable!"

He fired out a blast, with a huge roar from the sword, blasting all of the Rangers out of their morphed forms. They all lay lifelessly on the ground, unmoving as Vrak turned and walked away, the Wild Sword clutched tightly in his hand.


	14. Battle For the Sword

Jordan was still locked in combat with Distractor, elsewhere in the mountains. Having known about the illusions, and been able to turn his visor to a full spectrum scan, Distractor's illusions no longer worked, meaning that now Jordan was fighting him on an equal footing. It turned out that without his distracting holograms and tricks to hide behind; Distractor was only a mediocre fighter. Sure, he managed to score the occasional hit, but Jordan could tell he had definitely faced much stronger opponents by himself.

Distractor shoved him away to get some room, beginning to look panicked by the turn of the tide in their battle. Jordan could see him frantically looking around for an escape route.

"Run if you want." Jordan told him. "My issue's with Vrak. As long as you don't attack any people or me, then string up a web in some cave somewhere and live out your days for all I care."

"Oh, your issue is with me is it?" Vrak asked him. Jordan turned around, and was frozen to the spot as he saw him wearing the armoured gauntlet, and carrying the Wild Sword. He knew this was bad. If he had the sword, then that meant either he had gotten to it first, or...he didn't even want to think of the horrible possibility. "How are you Distractor?"

"This maniac almost killed me!" He responded, getting up. This time when he acted hurt, it looked a lot more genuine than it had before. "My powers..."

"That would be my fault, I'm afraid I had to pull you out of my experiment a little early, so your powers were never completed." Vrak assured him, helping Distractor up, before looking at Jordan. "For your part in this, I will reward you by completing your transformation I promise."

He then turned his attention to Jordan, giving him a sick grin as he stood between him and Distractor.

"Well, never let it be said I'm not willing to engage in open dialogue...what seems to be the issue?" He asked. "You don't seem happy to see me."

"Where are my friends?" Jordan demanded.

"You lost your friends? Well, that was awfully careless of you wasn't it?" Vrak said with a little laugh, emboldened by the power he now wielded. "Now, let me think, your friends, your friends...they're the ones that dress in those gawdy outfits aren't they? Now where did I last see them? Oh, that's right; it would be shortly after I did this!"

He activated his gauntlet, sending a dark energy through the sword. Graegoras started to roar in pain as it tried to resist. Jordan saw energy flaring up in the handle of the sword as Vrak pointed it at him. He threw himself aside as Vrak fired, destroying a large part of the cliff face behind him.

"You're just delaying the inevitable!" Vrak told him. "Your friends are already dead! I'll destroy you just the same if you oppose me!"

"You don't know me very well if you think threats will make me give up." Jordan told him, running out of cover. He leapt into the air, preparing to attack. Vrak just swung the blade, which flared up with power, sending Jordan flying high into the air and out of view. Distractor smiled to see this.

"Wow, that...that was amazing!" Distractor told him. Vrak turned towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you." He replied. "Now, as promised, consider this a promotion."

He forced Graegoras to use his power again, sending magic surging through Distractor. The mutant felt the new power coursing through him, and his strength growing. He screamed out in triumph.

"I...I feel amazing!" He called out. "I feel like I could take the Robo Knight myself!"

"You have more power than just that." Vrak assured him. "You will now find your illusions have a little more...substance...to them."

"You mean..." He cast his illusion once more, bringing back Badgrun, Priest, Psychotick and Hisser once more. He went to Hisser, patting him on the shoulder. "My illusions are real?"

"Well, as real as illusions can get." Vrak replied. "They have all the powers of their originals, and they obey your every command...though of course, nothing can truly bring back your fallen brothers."

"Well, that will have to do." Distractor replied as he followed Vrak. "So, what now?"

"Well, I am still getting used to controlling Graegoras' spirit. I have a feeling he will take some further taming to realise who his true master is." He informed him. "I will need to train him, and I know just the target."

With that, Vrak and Distractor disappeared, heading into the city.

A reasonable distance away, Jordan dragged himself out of the rock face, holding his head as his vision took a moment to recover. Even through the armour, Vrak's strike had taken a lot out of him. Despite training in full contact for most of his days, he could never remember being hit so hard.

"Jordan!" Tensou called over his communicator. "Jordan, speak to me!"

"Maybe next month." He groaned as he tried to clear the cob webs.

"Vrak's headed for the city." Tensou informed him. "You must stop him before it's too late!"

"He said he took out the others!" Jordan recalled. "Tensou, I have to..."

"I'm scanning for them now!" He replied. "I have life signs...five of them!"

"They're alive?" Jordan replied, relieved to hear this news. "I...I need to find them!"

"Your priority is saving the city." Gosei told him.

"But..."

"I will have Tensou bring the Rangers here." Gosei assured him. "They can defend themselves, the city cannot. You must stop Vrak and retrieve that sword!"

"I'll do what I can." Jordan replied, transforming into his flight mode and blasting off.

Back at the Command Centre, Tensou worked frantically to lock onto the Rangers' signals. Eventually, he managed to bring them back to the command centre. They were still scattered on the ground, unconscious, but started to stir as a result of being disturbed. Jake started to stroke his head as he sat upright.

"Jeez, that was brutal." He commented. "Can someone stop the room spinning?"

"My head." Emma moaned. "Is everyone else OK?"

"Vrak, he's got the sword." Troy reminded them. "Gosei..."

"Vrak is in the city." He told them. "He has begun his attack!"

Noah pulled up the scene on the viewing monitor. They all watched in horror as Vrak launched a salvo of fireballs from a rooftop into the city, destroying a few buildings.

"Oh God." Gia exclaimed as she watched in horror. "We've got to get out there, we need to stop him."

"Where's Jordan?" Troy asked.

"I sent Jordan ahead to try and stop him." Gosei informed them. "He is en route to the battle site."

"Um...don't those guys look familiar?" Jake asked, pointing to the screen. The Rangers all saw what he meant, seeing the fallen mutants standing alongside Distractor.

"Wait, why are Distractor's illusions showing up on the viewing screen?" Noah asked. Just then, they watched another explosion as they joined in the attack, firing power blasts. "Um...OK, that didn't look like an illusion."

"Vrak must have used the power of the sword to enhance Distractor's power." Gosei told them.

"And Jordan's heading there by himself." Troy responded. "It's six on one, even without the sword it'd be a massacre!"

"Troy, you must..."

"We can't let him face these odds alone." Troy interrupted Tensou. He knew the little robot would be a lot happier if he got a chance to treat their injuries first, but he also knew that Jordan likely didn't have the time. "You can check us out when we're done."

"But..."

"Tensou, we appreciate the concern." Jake told him, kneeling down next to the little robot. "But if we don't stop them now, there's not going to be a later. We need to try."

"Alright guys, back to action!" Troy called out as they went for their morphers, teleporting out of the Command Centre.

Back in the city, Distractor and his fallen mutants were with Vrak as he worked to get the spirit of Graegoras under control, using his gauntlet device. He fired several salvos of power blasts into the city, but could still feel it struggle against him.

"Stop fighting me!" He snarled at the sword. "I know you have much more power, stop fighting me!"

He could feel the ancient and powerful spirit of Graegoras fighting him every time he unleashed its power. He could tell that any time he forced it to attack, it held back as much as it could. He already knew that it hadn't used its full strength against the Robo Knight, and while he could always hope that he would take his humbling defeat as a lesson and give up, he knew these humans, the Rangers especially, had an annoying habit of coming back no matter how many times he slapped them down.

Just then, Distractor recoiled as he was hit with some lasers. Vrak looked down, seeing Robo Knight standing, aiming upwards at him.

Jordan looked on, seeing the monsters assembled around him. He had seen them launching attacks on the city, and knew that now they were far more than mere holograms. This time, they were just as dangerous as their real-life counterparts had been, and he was facing them all by himself. Even before he factored in the Wild Sword, it seemed like an impossible fight, but adding that into the equation, the whole thing seemed like suicide.

"You're sooner than I expected." He complimented Jordan. "I guess I would have been disappointed if the last of the Rangers..."

"My friends will be here soon enough." Jordan announced.

"Sooner than you think!" He heard someone behind them say. In a hail of blasts, all of the monsters fell from the rooftop into the street. Jordan smiled as he saw his friends come to the edge.

"You took your time." Jordan greeted them.

"You know us, we felt like a little nap." Troy replied. As they leapt down into the street, Jordan joined them, facing off against their foes. They lined up against them, staring down the street.

"Is this where you offer to do things the easy way or the hard way?" Vrak taunted them. Troy just shook his head.

"The time for the easy way has long since past." He informed him. "Now, I'm just going to take that sword."

"You?" He asked. "I already defeated all of you..."

"Guys, pick a partner and keep them off me." Troy instructed his team. "Leave Vrak to me."

"You don't need your virus to make me sick Priest." Gia stated. "I'll take the rat!"

"Snake on snake, what do you say Hisser?" Jake asked, being answered only with a nod.

"I usually like bugs, but in your case, I'll make an exception." Emma stated, levelling her Phoenix Shot at Psychotick.

"Well, you were the first one I took down solo." Jordan reminded Badgrun. "I guess you get a rematch big boy!"

"I guess that leaves me with you." Noah told Distractor, preparing his Bowgun.

As his team ran into the fray to take on their opponents, Troy was facing off against Vrak.

"Well, since you're so eager to be the first to die..."

"You spend an awful lot of time talking about how you're going to kill us Vrak!" Troy yelled at him, putting his Dragon Sword away, and standing with his arms apart. "I'd like to see you actually do something about it for a change!"

Vrak screamed as he ran for Troy, bringing the Wild Sword down in a destructive arc. The blade started to glow as he did so, channelling Graegoras energy. Troy cleared his mind, focusing on his breathing as he concentrated on his training, his mental discipline. His plan was a risky one, but he could think of no other. As the sword came down, he clapped a hand either side of the blade, channelling all his power into the palms of his hands to halt the blade. The energy burned at his hands painfully, and he was forced to one knee, but he stopped the blade. Troy closed his eyes...

Inside his mind, Troy tried to reach out, finding himself in a darkened room, with no sign of anything of the real world, his attention was grabbed as a light blinded him. He turned to see a massive, writhing dragon coming towards him.

"Graegoras!" Troy called to him. The dragon stared at him as he looked towards it. "Graegoras, Father of Dragons, the Earth is once again in need of your power, just as you promised to provide it."

"You...you are a follower of Gosei." Graegoras responded. "I am...I am sorry..."

"I know you've been forced to act against us!" Troy beckoned him. "I know that your power has been manipulated, but your will has not. I know you have fought against Vrak's control!"

"The magic he wields is strong." Graegoras told him. "I have tried..."

"Your will alone has kept you on this Earth, long after your time has passed!" Troy reminded him. "You must fight him!"

"His power..."

"His power is stolen, only you can provide him true power!" Troy told him, reaching out for Graegoras' spirit. "I will help you! Fight with us!"

Back in the real world, Jake hit the ground, landing by his friends. Their opponents were no less powerful than they had been before. Attacking all at once, the Rangers were finding themselves overpowered. Just then, they looked over to where Troy was struggling with Vrak as the sword started to glow more brightly. In a massive flash, both Troy and Vrak separated as the Wild Sword flew into the air between them. It broke up into five glowing orbs, at which it flew towards each of the Rangers in turn, floating before them.

"What...what just happened?" Noah asked as the five of them stepped forward, standing before the lights.

"I spoke with Graegoras' spirit." Troy informed them. "I convinced him that we would help him."

"But...I had him under control!" Vrak protested. "How...?"

"Graegoras never unleashed his full power to you, that's how we survived your attacks!" Troy told him. "You could never control him completely, because all you wanted was to use his power to destroy. Like any of us, he would have died before he'd allow that to happen. I just gave him another option."

Troy reached forward, grabbing the light before him, at which it turned into a sword, with a huge, clear orb at the hilt. A figurine, much like the hedders they used with their Mega Blasters appeared in his hand.

All the other Rangers did the same, each of them finding themselves holding an Ultra Sword. Vrak just looked on in horror.

"Let's do this for Graegoras guys." Troy told them, placing the hedder inside the Ultra Sword's orb. "Ultra Mode!"

Jordan watched on as the Rangers were bathed in a brilliant light, the energy coming from them making the whole street shake. As the light faded, he saw each of them wearing golden armour, the chest plate fashioned with a dragon's face, and the shoulders patterned after its wings.

"Oh, man, that is SIIIIICK!" Jordan whooped in delight. The Rangers all stepped up, preparing a guard.

"You wanted the power of Graegoras, you're about to get more than you can handle!" Troy called out, facing off towards Vrak. "Storm Power, Ultra Megaforce Red!"

"You may have drained energy before, but now you just suck!" Emma warned Psychotick. "Wind Power, Ultra Megaforce Pink!"

"There's only room for one snake in this grass!" Jake chuckled as he pointed his Ultra Sword at Hisser. "Rock Power, Ultra Megaforce Black!"

"You made me sick before, but I've got the cure right here!" Gia told Priest. "Jungle Power, Ultra Megaforce Yellow!"

"I'll leave the bad puns to the others and just settle for kicking your ass Badgrun." Noah answered. "Wave Power, Ultra Megaforce Blue!"

"Earth's Defenders, Never Surrender!" They chorused together. "Megaforce Ultra Mode!"

As they ran forward, launching into the attack, Vrak grabbed Distractor, shoving him in Troy's path, taking only some of the hit, being propelled through a building. Being on the receiving end of the Wild Sword's power was exactly where he didn't want to be.

Jordan just sat and watched the others dealing with the monsters, taking a seat on some nearby debris.

"I could totally go for some nachos right now." He commented to himself. "Go Rangers!"

Priest threw forward his flail, wrapping the chain around Gia, pinning her arms to her sides. Gia just smiled as the dragon's head on the chest plate bit through the chain, leaving him staring at what remained of his weapon.

"Say hi to the rest of the Brotherhood for me!" Gia called out, cutting through him, unleashing all the power of her blade. Priest's clone exploded, leaving nothing in his place. "Well, that's better than the original at least."

Emma cut down Psychotick, turning away from him as he exploded, seeing Noah destroying Badgrun just as easily.

"Wow, this new sword is amazing!" She commented.

"I think I still prefer the Bowgun, but I could get used to it." Noah told her.

Jake let out a huge cry as he ran straight at Hisser. The mutant sprayed forth his toxic venom, but as he ran, Jake's shoulder armour grew and formed a kind of angled shield in front of him, dispersing the venom harmlessly to the sides. Jake swung upwards, parting the creature from crotch to head in one stroke. It pitched backwards, before exploding on the ground.

Troy sent Distractor flying, landing by Vrak as the others assembled around him.

"Alright guys, Vrak wanted Graegoras' power? Let's give him all he can handle!" Troy told them, setting the hedder inside the clear orb spinning.

"Ultimate Power, Dynamic Strike!" They all called out, powering up an energy wave. Vrak just shoved Distractor in its path, before teleporting out. The spider mutant only just had time to register what happened as he saw the attack coming.

"This is gonna suck." He moaned, just before the attack slammed home. The top half of his body disappeared, completely destroyed by the blast, leaving his legs to fall forward. Jordan got up, running towards his friends as they all fell to their knees, powering down. All of them looked completely exhausted.

"Guys, that was completely freaking awesome!" He exclaimed as he recalled his armour. The hedders appeared before them, before turning into power cards in their hands. Jordan's smile noticeably slipped as he noticed something.

"Um...there are only five of those." He commented.

"Yeah?" Noah asked.

"Well...that sucks!" Jordan protested. "Why don't I get cool armour?"

The rest of the team just looked at him in disbelief, before getting up and walking away, shaking their heads.

"Oh, come on, you know what I meant!" He called after them. "Come on guys, wait up!"

A while later, the Rangers returned to the Command Centre, where Gosei was waiting for them.

"Congratulations Rangers. Today you showed true spirit and teamwork." Gosei told them. "I am proud of you all."

"It's Troy we should really be grateful to." Noah announced. "It was a pretty gutsy move communicating with Graegoras."

"He did what he always wanted. He passed his power onto someone who would use it to protect the Earth." Troy stated, looking to his Power Card. "Now it's up to us to use that gift properly."

"Man, why is everyone on such a downer? We won!" Jake stated. "We ended up with cool new armour..."

"Some of us did." Jordan interrupted him.

"Look, tomorrow we go back to school, we can feel as down as we want to then." He stated. "For now, let's party!"

He looked to Tensou.

"Hey Tensou, can you give us some music?" He asked. The little robot activated his database and selected what his research indicated was a popular music genre for this age group. Jake smiled as he got up.

"Aw...yeah!" He said, making his way over to Gia. She just rolled her eyes.

"Jake, I'm not in the mood." She muttered as he took her hand. "Cat just..."

As he spun her though, and started dancing, she found herself just getting caught up in it and dancing with him. It did suck being separated from Cat, but she had to admit, as a way of keeping her mind off it, there were worse ways.

Emma and Noah started dancing too, joining in as Troy just smiled. He noticed Jordan heading over to a section of wall, staring at it and joined him.

"Don't feel like joining them?" He asked.

"Not really." Jordan replied, concentrating on that section of wall. It was the one he knew hid the Library. Ever since he had been able to leave, he had longed to get back in, to see what other secrets it held. It had haunted his dreams since he had seen a memory relating to his own past. "My dad ruined the party we should have had yesterday. I kind of owe you a party."

"Hey, you're one of us too." Troy assured him with a smile. "It wouldn't be a party without you."

Jordan smiled as he heard this, following Troy to the dance floor to join the others. Senior year would begin the following day, and bring with it all new challenges, but for now, they had earned the right to have a little fun.


	15. Senior Year Begins

Monday morning rolled around, the first day back at school after the summer. Jordan, rather oddly for a kid, was actually looking forward to going to school. He still had no idea why his father had come to town. He had said something about being on some kind of task force, but so far Jordan had barely noticed him leaving the house. All his dad seemed to have done since getting to town was inviting his friends around to the house for "the Barbecue from Hell". He still shuddered thinking about it. His dad had a habit of showing up once every few months, and proceeding to stick his nose into Jordan's life, more often than not alienating him from his friends and trying to control his life. He actually looked forward to spending time at school, if nothing else; just to get away from his dad for a few hours.

As he got downstairs, he found his dad in the living room with a couple of men he hadn't seen before. One of them was blonde, tall, and looked to be in his late twenties. The other was a bald, black man. He didn't really know what was going on, but they seemed to be discussing something quietly.

"I told you, not until...Jordan, glad to see you finally..."

"I've got loads of time until I need to be at school." Jordan told him, heading to the kitchen and grabbing a health shake from the fridge. He picked up his bag and started to head for the door. His dad barred his path. "Um...something I can help you with?"

"I was wondering when you were planning on telling me about this." Jack replied, holding up a letter. Jordan just sighed and shook his head.

"Dad, they send those out to everyone..."

"Yes, so why didn't you fill it out?" Jack asked him. "Jordan, this is your senior year! Anything you can add to your resume will help with your college..."

"Dad, I don't want to be Senior Class President." Jordan stated. The blonde stranger just let out a small chuckle, but was quickly silenced as Jack glared at him.

"Do you have any idea how that'll look on your resume?" He asked. "Colleges love that kind of thing! It shows hard work, commitment, leadership..."

"Dad, politics is your thing, not mine." Jordan sighed, looking to him. "I've already applied to the soccer team, and I'll probably sign up to some other stuff..."

"But Jordan..."

"Dad, just because you want to sit in the Oval Office doesn't mean I do!" Jordan cut him off.

"So, what else are you planning to do?" He asked.

"You know, study, work on my coursework oh and here's a novel prospect...I thought somewhere in among all that I might actually do some stuff I like." Jordan told him. "I heard a vicious rumour teenagers do that sometimes."

"Well, how much fun will it be to get into a second-rate college?" He asked. "Or..."

"Dad, here's a news flash. I'm not you." Jordan told him. "I don't want to sign up, I don't want to go into politics, and I definitely don't want to spend all day every day making life miserable for people I'm supposed to care about! Now, I've got to be going. I'll see you later."

With that, Jordan stormed out. Dave just shook his head.

"Now that's why I don't have kids." He replied.

"I thought it was because you couldn't find a woman dumb enough to think you'd be a good addition to the gene pool." Sam replied sarcastically. Jack just looked to them both angrily.

"Are you both quite finished?" He asked. "Now, why exactly did you come to my home when I specifically asked you not to?"

"We just wanted to report the findings in person." Sam told him. "We're sure you've seen..."

"The battle with the Rangers yesterday?" He asked. "You mean where THEY ended up with the power source I expected you to bring to ME?"

"It's not like we didn't try boss." Dave protested. "Hell, we had the sword before it...well..."

"It just kind of pulled away from us." Sam answered.

"It pulled away from you?" He asked. "It's a SWORD!"

"He's not joking!" Dave told him. "Then that alien took it! If the Rangers weren't there..."

"The Rangers saw you?" He snapped.

"Yeah." Dave answered sheepishly. "The Blue one...he even mentioned remembering us from when..."

"So you mean to tell me, we're no closer to finding those Rangers, or their technology to bring under control...and they now know we're after them?" He roared. "This is a disaster! Do you two have ANY idea what the point is in being on a COVERT military team?"

He saw them both looking rather dejected and just sighed.

"I need to check in; a lot of higher ups are NOT going to be happy about this." He told them. "Until then, there is another matter I would like you to deal with. Maybe you can try not to screw this up."

Over at Harwood County High School, the kids were in relatively good spirits. Even though the students, the juniors and seniors especially, were disappointed the summer had ended so soon, meaning they now had a long year of hard work to look forward to, many of the kids hadn't seen much of each other over the summer. Between vacations, various camps and other pastimes, it had been a while since some of the kids had seen each other, and friends were excited to be getting back together to catch up after the summer.

Emma was just chaining up her bike with Gia when Jake and Troy arrived. Troy had run into Jake on his way to the school and opted to walk with him. Jake was playing around with a soccer ball, and wearing his letterman jacket. Gia just looked to him cynically.

"Aren't you tempting fate slightly?" She asked him. "Only the guys on the team get those."

"I like to just think of it as positive thinking." Jake answered with a smile as he tugged on the jacket, straightening it up. "I've been the star striker the last three years, why would this year be any different?"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with positive thinking. Gia could just do with remembering that." Emma replied, looking to the Yellow Ranger in a wordless reprimand. "She just gets all grouchy when she's at school. You know, she has to maintain the whole Harwood I..."

"Don't you dare say it!" Gia warned her.

"So, this is the first time I'll be attending school for the whole year here." Troy told them. "Where do we get our timetables?"

"Oh, well...they usually have an assembly." Emma explained. "Then at the end, we line up by a desk in our years, and when we sign in, we get our timetables then."

"Usually by the time that's over the first two periods are already over and we go straight to recess." Gia answered, rolling her eyes. "It's a complete waste of time. They could accomplish the same thing by sending our timetables through the mail."

"Come on Gia, everyone loves slacking off on the first day." Jake stated. "It's tradition."

"Like waiting UNTIL you're picked to wear a letterman jacket?" She replied. Jake didn't respond. They all knew that Gia didn't mean anything by it. They all figured that the first day without Cat was going to be a little trying.

"So what are all these tables?" He asked, gesturing around.

"Those are all the extracurricular clubs that are looking for people to sign up." Emma told him. "There are more inside. The Environmental society table's just over there."

"Um...aren't you the president?" Troy asked her.

"I decided to delegate some responsibility." She told him. "Howie's taking care of it."

"The beetle kid?" Jake asked. Emma just nodded.

"He's a good kid." She told him.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Jordan asked as he arrived. He saw Jake in his letterman jacket. "Have you seen the team list already? You made the team?"

"No, he's just thinking positive." Gia replied. "What about you?"

"To be honest, I've got no idea where I'm going." Jordan said honestly. "I keep getting mugged by kids with flyers wanting me to sign up for stuff."

"Apparently we get our timetables at the end of the beginning of year assembly." Troy told him.

"I don't believe this, would you look at that?" Emma asked as she pointed to a car heading into the parking lot. They saw that it was Allison driving into the lot.

"What?" Jake asked. "She has a new car?"

"Probably, but look...she's parking right up by the school!" Emma pointed out. "Last year she whined for weeks to get the tree pulled up to have a parking spot built over there. Now she's not even using it?"

"Emma..."

"That's just typical of her. She doesn't think of anyone but herself." Emma grumbled.

"Don't worry about it." Troy told her as he guided her towards the school. "There'll be other battles for the Earth in the future for us to win."

"Hey, check that out." Jordan stated. "The school's holding some kind of comedy thing this Friday."

"Trust me Jordan, it's always lame." Jake assured him, patting him on the shoulder. "The principal's booked the same lame thing every year for the past three years. He seems to forget the average age of the kids attending is 16, not 6."

"Is it really that bad?" Jordan asked.

"Their main attraction is a clown." Gia told him.

"Right...not to self, give that a miss." Jordan responded.

"I really wish we had that option." Noah told them as he and Quinn arrived, walking hand in hand. "Attendance is mandatory."

"Really?" Jordan asked.

"Yup." Jake informed him. "It's a fundraising thing. They sell snacks and stuff, but they found no one came when it was optional, so they decided they could either book something the kids would actually like, or..."

"Or they could make it mandatory." Noah concluded.

"Nice system." Jordan replied as they headed down the hall towards the assembly hall.

"The principal seemed to think so." Emma grumbled. "Personally I always complained about the amount of packaging they waste on the snacks."

"Same old Emma." Troy chuckled, holding her close. Gia just looked to Jordan.

"Did you bring any barf bags?" Gia asked as they started to look for seats in the hall. The rows were set out to separate the years. The seniors were, unfortunately, right up at the front of the hall, beneath the stage. They started to head down, looking for some seats. "I have a feeling I'll need some."

The faculty were filing in onto the stage, taking seats up at the head of the hall. They were all lined up there, but there were two notable absences. Mr Burley, but no one was too worried about that. He was generally late to such gatherings anyway. Being as forgetful as he was, he often forgot all about assemblies until they were almost half way through. One time, Noah had been sent to find him, only to find him in his lab, complaining about how none of his students had shown up to class, unaware that they were never meant to be in class.

The other was the principal. None of the students really knew why he wasn't there. A man in a suit was standing by the podium, waiting for the students to finally settle down. It took several minutes before the students were finally able to get to their seats and quieten down enough for the man to call their attention.

"Attention students, welcome to the new school year." He greeted them. "I am Superintendent Harrison, and I have been called to chair this assembly to run through some beginning of year notices. The first of which is one I am sure you are curious about by now, why I am taking this assembly and not your Principal. The short answer is, Principal Chalmers has elected not to return, and has taken up a position with Harrowfield Academy."

As this announcement was read, the school erupted in a huge cheer. Principal Chalmers was far from a popular man, and the students were more than happy to hear about his departure. He had taken on the job as his first Principal position, but brought with him a lot of ideas and attitudes from the private schools he had attended as a student, which did not fit with the much less rigid ways the kids in Harwood, or indeed ANY kids who attended public schools were used to. Although he had introduced a number of unpopular legislations within his tenure, none were less popular, or more damaging to his reputation than the time he had tried to place the blame for the attack on the school field trip on Mr Burley and used it as an excuse to turn the school into his vision of the ideal school...most of the students' idea of a prison!

"I guess he decided he couldn't face another year after the Burley fiasco." Jake commented.

"I feel sorry for the kids at Harrowfield." Noah said with a smile. "But at least we don't have to deal with him anymore."

"Unless they got someone worse." Gia remarked.

"He has asked that I pass along how rewarding he has found his experiences here, and I am certain we all wish him well in his future endeavours." Harrison continued, ignoring the cheers, which showed little sign of letting up. "His replacement will arrive at the end of the week. In the meantime, all your inquiries can be handled by the newly appointed vice principal, Mr Burley."

"He gestured to the chair, but seeing it empty, he just sighed and carried on.

"As you all know, the selection process for the sports teams has taken place over the last couple of weeks. The physical education department has assured me that the names are now up on the school website."

Jake pulled out his I-phone and started scrolling through, desperately looking for the website to check on his status with the team.

"Extracurricular clubs are now open, and you are strongly encouraged to sign up." He told them. "And finally, before we allow you to collect your timetables to begin, you are all reminded that the application forms for student body president for all years have now been accepted, and the application process is now closed. The full list of applicants will also be posted on the website..."

"Yes! Yes! Whoo!" Jake called out, leaping out of his seat, holding his phone. It was only then that he noticed everyone was staring at him. "Um...sorry sir."

"We appreciate your enthusiasm Mr Holling, but perhaps you can just vote like everyone else?" He suggested as Jake sheepishly sat down. "The applicants for each year will be posted on the school website. The first sweep vote will take place across this week, and allow you a final opportunity to enter a write-in candidate. At the end of the week, four candidates for each year will be selected to run for the position."

He then leaned on the edge of the podium and looked down on the students.

"Finally, all students are reminded that this year's fundraising comedy show is this Friday. All are welcome to attend." He told them. "Now, without further ado, I wish you all well, and remind you to work hard. You are dismissed."

"Um...did he make it sound like we had a choice if we went to the comedy thing?" Jake asked.

"I'm not taking the chance." Gia grumbled as they all got up, heading to the queue for their timetables. "The last thing I need is to start this year with a detention."

"So, what does Class President actually do?" Troy asked.

"I'm guessing from that you didn't apply?" Noah asked. Troy just nodded. "Well, basically they attend a meeting with staff members a few times in the year to make it look like they're doing something so they can add it to their resume."

"That's a little cynical." Quinn reprimanded him. "Besides, I think you'd make a great president. Just think...President Carter."

"I think that's been done." Jake chuckled. "I didn't apply though. I think I'll have more than enough on my plate with the soccer team. By the way, you made it too Jordan."

"Awesome!" Jordan said with a smile. "Yeah, dad bugged me about applying, but I didn't bother. Politics is more his thing. Besides, something tells me no one would be lining up to vote for the loser who pretended to be the Red Ranger."

"I didn't apply either." Noah confirmed. "I'm shooting for president of the science club."

"How about you Gia?" Jake asked. "Did you apply?"

"Are you kidding?" Gia asked. "Even if everyone on the Harwood Flagship voted, I doubt I'd get enough support."

"I'm sure you'd get more support than that." Emma told her.

"Emma, you didn't see my e-mail account after the Dean thing." Gia reminded her.

"Well, I put my hat in the ring." Emma told them with a smile. "I figured instead of just protesting decisions, maybe I could make real changes if I actually got involved."

"I guess it would be novel to have a student president that actually did something." Noah replied. "You've got my vote."

"Mine too." Troy assured her as they got to the front of the queue. "Burrows, Troy."

As they collected their timetables, Emma just smiled as Troy held her closely. Her friends might only give her five votes, but she had a feeling that with them by her side to help her, maybe her attempt wouldn't be a complete waste of time. At least the campaign would be fun.


	16. First Day Back

On the Warstar ship, Vrak was still smarting after his recent defeat at the hands of the Rangers...but that was nothing compared to the punishment he had been forced to endure once he got back to the flagship and Malkor got his hands on him. Once the destruction had begun, he knew that Malkor would quickly hear of it. While he turned a blind eye to Vrak's activities for the most part, he wasn't completely ignorant, and destroying a significant part of the city was bound to attract attention. Vrak had hoped that he would be able to bring the Wild Sword under control fairly quickly, so that by the time Malkor did come for him, he would have the power that it would no longer be an issue and he could wrest control for himself. It was a thought that he was sure had to occur to Malkor too. In short, he was in deep shit and had a lot of very fast talking to do once he got back.

He had successfully managed to convince Malkor that he had only found out about the Wild Sword and its power the same day as the Rangers, and that his decision to go in search of it without consulting the Admiral had been purely a matter of the urgency to claim it before the Rangers had. He had even pulled Distactor out of his lab before his powers were fully completed in his haste to get to the sword before the Rangers. In the end though, not only had he failed, but in the process the Rangers had ended up claiming the power for themselves, making them even more powerful and difficult to destroy. Malkor had made an example of Vrak, sparing him only, he claimed, because his intentions had been in his favour. Vrak suspected that this wasn't completely true, that Malkor suspected he had no intention of giving him the sword, but for now he obviously still believed Vrak to be useful. He hadn't, however, spared the rod so to speak in his discipline, allowing some of his trusted lieutenants to torture him for his failures. He had accepted his punishment without complaint, but he knew this turn of events meant only one thing. The time until Malkor decided he was a threat and got rid of him altogether was growing short.

He had, however, found a new and potentially very ironic weapon to use against the Rangers. In their recent battle, he had seen other humans, ones armed with strange weapons, had been there to claim the sword too. From what he had heard the Rangers saying, it seemed they were the ones that took the Black and the Blue Rangers when Shadow Serpent had frozen them. He, like Malkor had very limited knowledge of the organisation the Rangers were part of, but he knew one thing already. They weren't part of the ruling body that he had heard people refer to as "the Government". It seemed like because of this, the Government weren't entirely sure as to whether the Rangers could be trusted, in much the same way as Malkor didn't believe that Vrak could be completely trusted now. If the Government was sending people after the Rangers...perhaps there was a way to utilise that and turn them against each other, to use them as a distraction for the Rangers who, as far as he could see, were the only real significant threat against them.

Elsewhere in the city, Eric got back to his place at lunch time with Louise. As soon as they got in, he headed off to his room.

"You know, when you said you were taking me out for lunch, this isn't really what I thought you had in mind." She teased him as he started to look around. "Bringing a girl to your empty home in the middle of the day could give her the wrong idea..."

"Where is it?" He grumbled, ignoring her remark. "Louise, could you put the coffee maker on? I have to find that..."

Just as he was speaking, he heard a knock on the door. He looked up; a little puzzled, before heading to the door. As he got there, he found two men in body armour waiting. One of them was a bald, black man, the other blonde haired with blue eyes. They were both carrying weapons.

"OK, the Avon company's taking a more aggressive approach to sales." He said sarcastically. "Can I help you with something?"

"You recently paid a visit to General Edwards." Dave began, squaring up to Eric. "We were just in the neighbourhood and thought we should deliver a little message."

"Jack wanted to deliver a message?" Eric asked them. "Well, he seems to know where I live, why can't he deliver the message himself?"

"He just wanted us to tell you he doesn't really appreciate you throwing your weight around in his home." Dave told him. "He wanted us to tell you that you might want to keep your distance from now on."

Eric just smiled, before slamming the door in their faces dismissively. Dave looked to Sam, a little bemused.

"Think he got the message?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'd say he was just quaking in his boots." Sam replied sarcastically. "Anyway, he wanted us to deliver a message, and we've done that. Let's go."

He turned back to the Living Room, finding the file he was looking for on the coffee table as Louise came back in.

"Who was that at the door?" She asked.

"No one important." Eric replied dismissively as he sat down with her, taking his coffee. "Alright, we'll just have this, then I'll take you somewhere for lunch. What do you fancy, sushi?"

"Actually, I saw the Panini maker in the kitchen and got a real taste for grilled cheese." Louise told him. "In the meantime, we do still have the place to ourselves." Eric just looked to her and smiled.

"That sounds pretty good too." He replied, drawing next to her and kissing her softly.

At that moment, over at the High School, the Rangers were in the cafeteria. Emma came over to where her friends were already sitting, seeing them all sitting around talking, while Jake just sat, beaming with pride in his Letterman jacket. Jordan now had one too, having picked it up from the coach in their first gym class.

"Jake, it's just a jacket." Jordan told him. "Seriously, I mean last year, you didn't even wear yours most of the year."

"No, but I always wear a school hoodie." Jake told him. "Did you know that two former state Senators used to go to school here? You have to have a little pride in your school, pin your colours to your chest and all that."

"And I guess it has nothing to do with advertising to the whole school you're a soccer player and trying to get dates?" Gia teased him, shoving him gently as she pushed her dinner tray away. It was still half full.

"Something wrong with the food Gia?" Emma asked her. Gia just shrugged.

"I'm just not that hungry." Gia answered. "The food hasn't improved over the summer anyway."

"At least it's science this afternoon." Quinn stated as she sat with them. "I don't know about all of you, but I've really missed Mr Burley over the summer."

"I kind of have too." Noah agreed. "I got some pretty amazing books on the ghosts of Culloden Moor that I think he'd just bust a gut over seeing!"

"Hey, check that out." Jake stated, pointing to a table in the corner. Allison was sitting there, all by herself. One of the canteen staff brought a tray over, before taking some money from her. "She's sitting all by herself."

"Yeah, an exclusive table all to herself, she's probably insisted on that to remind everyone she's special." Emma told them in a dismissive tone.

"Emma, she told me during the summer that she isn't a cheerleader anymore. She said she's not going back to it." Jake told her. "Now no one's sitting with her..."

"Jake, that's probably by choice. She likes to make sure people know how superior she is to them. Look, she even gets table service!" Emma protested. "That's always been the problem here. People care more about image than anything people actually have to offer."

"Well, maybe when you're Senior Class President, you can change that." Troy replied, taking her hand and holding it gently. She just smiled.

"That's sweet, but I think it'll take more than that to win an election." Emma sighed.

"I'll see you guys in class." Jake told them, looking over to Allison's table. They watched him go, clearing off his tray and putting it up to be cleaned, before heading to Allison's table. Jordan just shook his head.

"He really doesn't give up does he?" He asked them. Gia just shrugged.

"Well, he did chase me for like two years." She told him. "I think Jake's the kind of guy who's in love with the idea of being in love."

"So have you decided what your policies are?" Noah asked Emma, trying to get the subject off Jake. He knew that Jake had a habit of coming on a little strong when he decided he was going for something, and that it occasionally meant he was prone to making himself look kind of silly. It was entertaining in its own way, but he didn't want his friends to make too much fun of him. "I know the science department, and the computer club could use some more funding."

"What about the sports teams?" Jordan asked. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I couldn't see that coming." She replied sarcastically. "Don't you think enough of the school's funding goes on sports?"

"Jordan, the majority of the donations to the school come in through athletics, and most of that money goes straight to the sports teams." Gia informed him. "The soccer team got two new uniforms, a large screen HD TV and video camera for the locker room and a brand new team bus last year."

"Yeah, but all of that stuff is cool!" Jordan stated.

"Yeah, of course people on the team think so." Troy responded with a chuckle. "That's why it might be good to get someone with a few different ideas in office."

"And just think, you could end up as the First Lady." Jordan responded. Troy just gave him a dark glare in response.

"I'll remember that the next time we're sparring." Troy warned him.

"Oh, you are so on." Jordan laughed in response.

Meanwhile, Jake got to the corner, where Allison was eating. She just sighed and looked up at him as she put down her fork.

"Jake?" She asked. "What...what are you doing...?"

"I saw you were here yourself and thought you might like some company." Jake told her with a smile. "Where are your friends? You used to sit with..."

"I'm not a cheerleader anymore." She reminded him.

"That doesn't mean people should just leave you alone." Jake replied, sitting down at the table across from her. "Look, I don't know what happened, but from what I remember, you were a pretty cool person..."

"Jake, could you just leave me in peace to eat?" She groaned. "I'm really not in the mood for a pity party."

"Allison, I only want..."

"Jake, leave me ALONE!" She snapped. Jake just looked a little annoyed by this. He knew he could come on a little strong, but he didn't do anything he could think of that was wrong. He just held up his hands and backed away as the bell rang.

"Hey Jake, we're heading off to the lab." Noah called out. Jake picked up his bag and headed after his friends. As he got to the door, just as the last of the kids were filing out, he noticed her getting her tray collected by one of the canteen staff, not even bothering to get up from the table to hand it to her.

"Maybe Emma's right." He grumbled. "Maybe she really isn't worth the hassle."

With that, he headed out of the canteen, making his way towards the lab.

A moment later, they were in Mr Burley's class, taking their seats. Mr Burley had a large stack of documents on his desk and an enthusiastic grin on his face. He looked like a kid at Christmas as his class came in.

"Well, I hope you all had a scientrific summer, welcome to senior year!" He greeted them enthusiastically. "Now, take your seats, quickly now...Noah, Quinn, would you mind passing around these permission slips?"

"Permission slips?" Jake asked as Noah handed him one. "After the last one?"

"Oh, don't worry; I'm sure this one will be much safer." He assured them. "This Thursday, your last period science lesson will be a field trip to the Hartford collection at the science museum."

"That exhibit is awesome!" Noah said with a note of excitement in his voice. "Um...I went there during the summer..."

"Well, I guess you'll be able to help guide us around some of the exhibits." Mr Burley suggested. Emma received her permission slip and looked to Mr Burley.

"There's no price on here." She told him. "It doesn't say how much we have to..."

"Dr Hartford is kindly footing the bill for this excursion." He told them. "It was his condition for lending his collection to the museum that all the schools in the city be allowed to see the exhibit free of charge."

"Aw man, I was looking forward to an afternoon off." One of the other students complained. "Normally my mom just doesn't pay for these things, now we don't have a choice?"

"Don't you realise how much of a privilege this is?" Emma asked, looking to her. "This could give us a real benefit to our education! We should get more things like this, but we just don't get funding for it."

"Oh, and where exactly should we get the money for it?" The student asked. "I know that with all that time you spend in the woods you should realise money doesn't grow on trees."

"Well the athletics department seemed to find plenty of money for holograms on the tickets to all the events." Gia said, leaning back in her chair. "Meanwhile, the arts department had its budget cut."

"Well, we all know the Senior Class Presidential race is beginning soon, but perhaps we can leave the campaigning until outside of class time?" He suggested. "In the meantime, perhaps we can begin the year with a little science brain teaser. Who here has heard of the Big Bang Theory?"

"I love that show!" Dirk called out from the back of the class, raising a laugh from the others. "What? It's a great show!"

"I think he means the actual theory." Gia corrected the former bully. Mr Burley just smiled. The year had begun as he hoped it would continue, with his class already engaged and ready to discuss new ideas.

Meanwhile, on the edge of town, a car was arriving, pulling into a gas station. A woman got out of the car, dressed in a business suit. She had long, dark hair. The assistant came over to her car as she started to make her way inside.

"Fill her up; I've had a long drive." She told him, heading into the shop. As she started looking at the shelves, she saw the newspapers showing headlines, almost all of them relating to the Rangers. She dialled her cell phone and held it up.

"OK, I'm in town." She stated. "The traffic's been murder, but I should be at the safe house shortly."

"So, how are things looking out there?" The voice on the other end asked. She smiled.

"Well, the clean-up operation from the oil spill has been bumped from the front page here." She told him. "The front page is about the Rangers, but I guess that has to be expected."

"Just remember why you're there." The voice replied. "Remember, you have a new job at the High School beginning tomorrow."

"I can't believe you talked me into this." She responded with a sigh.

"Remember, we all made a commitment. This is bigger than any of us." The voice replied. "Tell me when you get to the safe house."

"I will sir." She replied, heading to the counter and putting a few newspapers down on the counter.

"You read a lot of newspapers." He commented.

"In my line of work, it pays to keep up to date with the news." She replied, taking a bottle of water from the fridge. "This and the petrol from pump 4 too."

"As you wish ma'am." He replied, ringing up her sales.


	17. Smile Through the Second Day Blues

As Tuesday rolled around, only the second day, the kids were decidedly less energetic, once again especially those in the higher years, who had some very important decisions to make in the near future. Those in junior and senior year had to give some very serious thought towards their future and had a lot of decisions to make. Were they going to apply to college? If so, which ones? Were they eligible for scholarships? What kind of career appealed to them, and were their subject choices going to get them there? All of these decisions and more had to be made, and pretty quickly before the year got too far in for them to make important changes.

The other factor was that while the first day especially was a little bit of a goof off, since the teachers generally took a while to get back into the swing of things and motivate themselves to get the main body of their work started, the fact was that for the juniors and seniors especially, they knew that the goofing off was at an end, and the long months of hard work was about to begin.

A car pulled into the parking lot, and the woman driving stepped out. She was dressed smartly in a business suit, and carrying a brief case. The rest of the parking lot was pretty much empty. She had come in early to get some idea of the lay of the land before she started in her new post. Looking to the front of the school, she smiled. It was an unassuming looking place, built on a relatively old design, much like the school she had attended. The visage looked relatively new, and from the reports she had heard, she wasn't surprised since a significant portion of the school had been destroyed when a Ranger battle went quite literally through the building, but by the looks of things, they had opted to repair and replace most of it rather than take the opportunity to rebuild in a more modern style.

Her attention was grabbed as she heard someone struggling nearby. Heading around the corner, she found Mr Burley wrestling with several large boxes of equipment. He looked like he was ready to drop all of them at any moment as he staggered around. She ran over, catching a box of glass beakers as it almost hit the ground.

"Oh, thank you." He stated. "You are very kind..."

He looked to her and smiled.

"Well, I haven't seen you around here before. You must be the new principal." He surmised, trying to adjust the boxes in his grip. "Um...I'll wait until we get in with these before I shake your hand if you don't mind."

"I am, and not at all, I'll give you a hand." The new principal told him as they made their way inside. "I'm guessing you're Mr Burley? The education department told me you'd meet me this morning."

"I am, and I don't mind telling you I'm glad that you were able to get here so quickly." He said with a smile. "I never did like the whole administrative side of things. I only got the title of Vice Principal because I'm the most senior staff member on the pay roll. I used to be happy enough to just concentrate on teaching."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." The Principal replied, looking to the boxes in her hands. "Um...this is an awful lot of equipment to be bringing from home..."

"Oh...yes, I often bring a lot of my own equipment." He told her as they dropped his equipment off in his lab. "Sadly, it's been a while since the department was able to replace some of the older equipment. I've sent in numerous requisition forms but..."

He just looked to her and shook his head.

"Oh, but you don't want to be bombarded with all my minor complaints the moment you step in the door do you? I'll just show you to your office."

As he walked with her down the corridor, he looked to her.

"You...you are a lot younger than I expected." He said honestly.

"Believe me, I'm old enough." She assured him as they arrived at her office. "Look, I know you're meant to give me the tour, but I find I get a better grasp of my surroundings if I can get a chance to explore on my own. For now, I really just want to get settled in and unpack. I'll be spending most of the day getting familiar with the records."

"Oh...well...my lab is just this way if you need any assistance." He told her. "Perhaps I'll see you at lunch."

"Perhaps." She answered. "Thank you for your help Mr Burley."

As he left, he just shrugged.

"She seems a nice enough young woman." He commented as she closed the door behind her. "It'll be nice to get some new blood in here."

A little later, outside the school, Jordan and Jake were talking when Gia arrived. Jordan just looked around, looking a little confused.

"What?" Gia asked.

"I'm just...did we get transported to a parallel universe or something?" He asked. "Where's Emma?"

"We're not joined at the hip." Gia told him sarcastically. "We do occasionally spend time apart."

"When?" He asked her. Gia just gave him a little glare, before punching him in the shoulder hard. "OW! OK, that's going to be a bruise."

"Ignore him." Jake responded.

"I generally do." Gia answered. "She's with her shadow right now, and I got fed up of all the lovey dovey stuff, so I went on ahead."

"So, have you heard from Cat yet?" Jake asked her. "How are things up in Hollywood?"

"She says the new school is really nice." Gia told him with a bright smile. "She says her new apartment isn't up to much, but she likes the teachers and the students so far."

"I'm glad to hear she's happy." Jake answered.

"She says she misses Harwood though, even you Jordan." She added, looking to him as she smiled. "Oh, and she says she's got dance classes on her timetable. She said that when she comes back for the holidays, she'll give you some lessons Jake."

"Lessons?" He asked. "What do I need dance lessons for?"

They never bothered answering though, just heading towards the school. One of the students stopped Jake in his tracks though.

"Say Holling, why didn't you run for Senior Class President?" He asked.

"Oh...um...it's really not something I'm interested in." He admitted. "You know, politics and..."

"Who cares about politics? Just think of what someone cool like you could do in office!" He told him. "Did you know they're saying that this year the soccer team will have to travel by coach to other states?"

"Um...so?" Jordan asked in response. "They bought a new bus last year! That was the point wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but why drive when we can fly?" He asked. "Dude, would you rather be trapped on a bus for hours, or fly around on a plane?"

"You seriously don't think the school spends enough on sports?" Gia asked sceptically. "Last year, the principal spend a bunch of money on fencing equipment. We still don't even have a fencing team!"

"Whatever." He grunted, waving off Gia. "We all know you're going to vote for your girlfriend anyway."

"Emma isn't my..."

"Anyway, see you both at practice." He replied, ignoring Gia and beginning to walk away. "I'll catch you around!"

"Wow, he really wants you as President?" Jordan asked.

"Most students just want someone who promises stuff that sounds popular." Gia groaned. "Last year, the junior class president promised to campaign for free vending machines in the halls and a ban on weekend homework."

"And that seriously worked?" Jordan asked sceptically. "Either it's a popularity contest, or the students here are seriously dumb to believe stuff like that."

"It's mostly the former." Gia told him. "Although I can't rule out the latter, I did find one kid complaining that the vending machine still asked for a dollar."

As they started to leave, to head into the school, Jake stopped as he noticed Allison's car pulling into the parking lot at the side of the school. He was about to head off when he noticed something odd. As she opened the door, it took her a while to get out, like she was struggling with something. He headed over to see if he could help.

As he got closer, and she finally managed to free whatever her load was, she saw him and was startled. She dropped what she was holding, and Jake was astounded to see a metal frame falling out onto the ground. On closer inspection, he saw that it was a collapsed wheelchair.

"Jake!" She gasped in shock. "What are you...?"

"You looked like you could use a hand." He replied, picking up the chair. It was then that he saw the sign and realised that the new parking spot she was using, the one that Emma had remarked was closer to the school than the one she pushed for the previous year was a disabled parking spot.

He started to think about all the times he had seen her since she had reappeared in town after disappearing months before the end of the school year. In the Brainfreeze, at the soccer tryouts, in the canteen...every time she had been sitting. He hadn't seen her standing since she got back.

"Allison, what...what...?"

"Did I ask for help?" She asked him, snatching the chair from him and starting to set it up. As she slid over into the chair, locking the door to her car, Jake saw a number of levers in the steering column. "I guess now you're going to..."

"You're paraplegic?" He asked her. She just looked to him.

"Well, we know you're not blind at least." She grumbled sarcastically. "Now, can you just leave me alone?"

"What happened?" He asked her. She just looked to him.

"You remember Frankie?" She asked him. He just nodded.

"Kind of hard not to remember him, that guy was a douche. I never knew what you saw in him." He answered. "Come to think about it...I haven't seen him since..."

"Since around the time I left school?" She asked him. He just nodded. "Well, he and his petrol head friends used to love racing their cars near the woods. One time I made the genius decision to go with him. He convinced me to go on one of his runs with him."

Jake didn't need to ask, he could see where the story was going.

"He'd had a few drinks to loosen up before the race." Allison told him. "He ended up parking his car in a flood canal."

"He...he didn't..."

"Don't worry, he isn't dead." She assured him in a sigh. "In fact, he ran off with hardly a scratch on him. That's the benefit of airbags I guess."

"He ran off and left you?" Jake snapped in response. She just nodded. "That asshole!"

"He didn't get far." She told him. "It turns out the car he was racing didn't exactly belong to him. He won't be racing anyone for the next couple of years at least."

"Allison, I'm sorry..."

"And that's exactly what I DON'T WANT!" She snapped at him. "I wasn't even going to come back here, but my parents couldn't get me into another school! They couldn't afford to send me somewhere further away."

"Allison, I didn't, I mean..." Jake started to stammer. "Look, all of this...I didn't know about it. I just..."

"Well, I can guess what you might have wanted before, but now that you found out about this, I'll just save you some hassle coming up with an excuse." She told him, rolling her wheelchair up the ramp. He just ran his hand through his hair as he watched her go.

"I just wanted to help." He whispered to himself, looking to the entrance she went into, before walking away to find the others.

Elsewhere in the school, Emma came towards her locker with a huge smile on her face, finding Noah with Quinn by his locker. They were holding hands, looking into each others' eyes.

"I really wish I hadn't chosen Spanish as my language in freshman year." She sighed.

"I really wish I hadn't chosen French." He agreed. "I mean, I really can't. It's California; about one in three people speak the language. Why didn't I choose Spanish?"

"Seriously guys, it's the only class you two don't have together." Emma giggled as she got between them, opening her locker. "I think you'll live."

"So says the girl who's permanently attached to Troy." Quinn answered. "I really should get going though; I'll catch up with you later."

She kissed Noah passionately, leaving Noah in a daze as he watched her go.

"I never understood what all the fuss was until now." He said in a distant voice, his smile splitting his face. Emma just looked to him, smiling. She was happy for him that he had found someone that made him so happy. It was one of her biggest regrets that anything had come between them, but now...it seemed like the way Noah had felt about her had only altered their friendship, and circumstances meant they were now much closer, and happier for it. She snapped her fingers.

"Earth to Noah, Earth to Noah..." She teased him. "It's time for French class."

"Oh leave me alone. It's not like you and Troy are any different." He replied, shoving her gently.

"We are..."

"You so are!" Noah told her. "Look at that grin. You look like you're on something!"

"I just...I just like it when we're on our own." She admitted. "Troy's so different when there aren't others around."

"Really?" Noah asked her. "How?"

"He's really funny." She told him, thinking about it. "He does this thing with his eyebrows...and he tells jokes...he's totally different when he loosens up. He's kind of a goof when he wants to be."

"Seriously?" Noah asked her. "Troy?"

"He might act confident, but he's actually kind of shy really." She told him. "He's totally different when other people aren't around."

"Wow, Troy has a personality." Noah commented. "Who knew?"

Emma just slapped him upside the head.

"OW!" He whined as they headed to class.

"Hey, we may be friends, but he's still my boyfriend." She giggled. "Make fun of him, I will bring the pain."

As they made their way to class, they didn't see a Zombat perched in a corner out of sight.

On the Warstar ship, Vrak and Malkor were watching events unfolding. Malkor just looked to Vrak.

"They almost found our spy drone." Malkor commented. "But they were so busy laughing they didn't see it."

"Yes, I never did understand the humans' obsession with laughter." Vrak replied. "They waste so much time and energy laughing; they don't notice what's right under their noses."

"I heard one of the humans saying that they're actually having some kind of event at the end of the week that's dedicated to making people laugh." Malkor continued. Vrak could see where this was going.

"You wish me to find some way to take advantage of that?" He asked.

"I remember one of my monsters used to feed on laughter." Malkor told him. "If you could find a way to enhance that ability..."

"Not all humans find everything funny." Vrak interrupted him. "However, I think I might just have a solution to that problem. I can create..."

"I will send Nojoke to your lab." Malkor interrupted him. "You have three days to get him ready for the attack."

"I will do as you command sire." Vrak told him, heading for his lab. He was already having ideas how to increase the effect of Nojoke's powers. His own ambitions would have to wait, once the Rangers were gone, then he would be able to focus on ridding himself of Malkor for good.

As he got to his lab, he looked at his latest acquisition from the trader, a bunch of transparent cards with data written on them, that were a little damaged, and smiled.

"Admiral Malkor asked me to come to you." Nojoke told him. He saw the card in his hand. "What are those?"

"Those...they are a project for a later date." He told Nojoke, putting them away in a locked box. "Now, get over to the workbench."

"Will this hurt?" Nojoke asked. Vrak smiled.

"Don't worry." He stated. "I won't feel a thing."


	18. The Unwilling Candidate

As lunchtime came around, the canteen was surprisingly busy. Mercifully it wasn't as busy as it was during the last principal's tenure when he made the ill advised decision to bar students from leaving school during the day, forcing everyone to use the woefully under-sized and under-equipped school canteen.

"What's with the population explosion?" Gia asked, noting the mass of people as she picked up her tray and headed into the queue. Noah looked to her and shook his head.

"I have no idea." He commented. "I was hoping to get through this queue quickly so I could talk to the new principal."

"We have a new principal?" Jordan asked him, vaulting over the guard rail, landing beside Noah with his tray in his hand. "I haven't seen anyone, how did you...?"

"There's a car parked in the spot reserved for the principal, one I haven't seen before." Noah told him. "It's a BMW too...pretty top end for someone on a public school salary."

"So the new principal shows up, and then doesn't see a single student?" Gia asked. "Well that paints a pretty bleak picture for the future."

"Would you give the new principal a chance at least?" Noah asked her. "I'm sure he...or she...will be just fine."

"That's what we said about the last Fuhrer." Jordan replied with a sarcastic tone in his voice as the queue moved up slowly. Jake, Emma and Troy arrived behind them.

"Hey guys, it's pretty crowded in here." Jake commented.

"I just hope there's some pizza left by the time we get to the front of the queue." Jordan replied, looking around. "If some freshman takes the last slice of pepperoni I am not going to be in a good mood!"

"Are you ever?" Gia chuckled.

"Only when I'm pissing you off." Jordan answered with a shrug as Jake started looking around and hitting his hands off the railing and the wall. "Jake...what are you doing?"

"Has anyone noticed how narrow this corridor is?" Jake asked, tapping the railing. It was something that had never really thought about before. The canteen had hand rails along a couple of feet from the counter to form up a queue. It was narrow to funnel the students into single file, and to discourage queue jumping. He hadn't really noticed before how narrow it was, but looking forward and seeing Dirk, the hulking former bully that had tried to hassle Troy, he could see there wasn't room for a toddler to stand beside him. Looking behind him, even Troy and Emma, neither of whom were especially big, Emma especially, couldn't stand next to each other. He couldn't help thinking about Allison, and finding out about her accident. For someone in a wheelchair, going down that corridor would be impossible.

"What are you talking about?" Noah asked him. "Jake, you've been here for three years and this has never bothered you before."

"It's...it's nothing." He replied, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "So Jordan, are you looking forward to the first practice this afternoon? Apparently the coach has already set us up a game against Mariner Bay in a couple of weeks."

"I'll look forward to it a lot more once we get this queue moving." Jordan grumbled. "Why exactly are there only two people serving on the line for a school with over two hundred students?"

"Budget cuts." Emma told him. "It's the same reason the canteen isn't equipped to accommodate even half the students enrolled here..."

"You're seriously campaigning already?" Gia asked her.

"It doesn't hurt to figure out my policies in case I'm picked as one of the candidates." She replied. She saw Allison in the corner, getting a meal taken to her. "And one of the first things I'm going to change is all the preferential treatment around here. Make sure everyone gets treated equally."

Jake saw this and turned towards Emma.

"Emma, you don't know..."

"I know that everyone else is expected to stand in a queue and wait their turn." Emma interrupted him.

"Yeah, do we look like we're here for the good of our health?" Noah agreed. Jake was about to say something, but it struck him. Allison always got to classes early, and got to the canteen early. She stayed out of people's way...she was doing everything she could not to draw attention to her disability. He just shook his head gently.

"Finally." Jordan complained as the queue finally started moving up. "Maybe we can actually get eating sometime today...hey HEY! That pizza's for everybody kid!"

"You really don't deal with hunger well do you?" Gia teased him.

"Gia, if we wait much longer, I'll seriously consider eating one of you." Jordan assured her.

"Well...I think the threat of cannibalism is enough to convince me that it's a Brainfreeze day." Noah replied, ducking under the guard rail and putting his tray away. "Anyone else coming?"

"Yeah, this is looking pretty hopeless." Troy agreed, vaulting over the barrier as Emma and Noah joined him. "How about you guys?"

"Come on Jordan." Gia told him as they left the queue as well. "Who knows, maybe the next President will change things for the better. In the meantime, it looks like we're eating out."

"Wait up!" Jordan called out as he hopped the rail to join them. As they left, Jake couldn't help casting a glance back towards Allison, who was once again eating on her own.

Later that afternoon, Jake and Jordan got to gym class, and had finished getting changed into their soccer gear, before running out onto the field. They formed up in front of the coach.

"Alright guys, as you know, we're up against Mariner Bay in a couple of weeks." The coach began. "We have a new team, unfortunately we lost a few very good players after graduation, but we can't use that as an excuse. We have to get used to a new team set up, and we don't have long to do it in, but everyone else is in the same boat, including the Mariner Bay Tridents."

He held up an armband, which the kids all looked at with huge grins on their faces.

"As you know, one of the players we lost to Manchester University was Chuck, the team captain, which means that now we have an open spot for a captain." He told them. "Now wearing this armband is NOT just something to put on your CV. If you wear this armband, I expect you to eat, sleep and shit for the team, am I understood?"

The team all nodded.

"Now, I'm not making my decision in a hurry. I want to be sure that whoever wears this arm band is a real leader!" He called out. "That is why, in addition to keeping a close eye on all of your performances on the field until the game, I also want to see what you can offer off the field. I need a captain that doesn't have the usual mass of bone and mush most of you seem to carry on your shoulders. Each of you will be expected to bring me three formations by next week. Do you understand?"

"Yes coach!" They all called out.

"Now, before you begin warming up...there's one more thing." The coach called out. "Holling, step forward."

Jake looked to the others, a little confused, before stepping forward.

"Holling, have you seen the short list of applicants for the Senior Class President candidate?" He asked. Jake just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it seems that a lot of your fellow athletes decided they have better things to do." He told him, putting his arm around him. "What I'm saying is, we have two mathletes, three science nerds, three of art wierdos, some trust fund baby and that tree hugging do-gooder that whined when a tree got cut down last year."

"Emma's my friend sir." Jake told him, hearing the coach's assessment of Emma, but he didn't seem to notice that Jake wasn't happy.

"Well, the point is, none of them are really going to guarantee that things are going to stay as good for the athletics department as they have been." The coach told him. "I can't help noticing you're something of a class clown...kids like you."

"Um...thanks I guess." Jake commented. "Um...what's that got to do with...?"

"You're popular Holling, that means a lot of kids would vote for you." He told him. "Maybe with someone who knows what things are like for the sports teams at those meetings...?"

"I'm really not interested in politics." Jake told him, waving him off. "Besides, I didn't put my name forward. I'm not in the running."

"Well, there are ways around that." He said with a smile. "Right lads, here's how it is. There are nearly two hundred kids in your year, and twenty of them are right here!"

"OK?" Jake asked.

"You all have to vote to make a shortlist of four candidates by the end of the week, but you have the ability to choose a write-in candidate." The coach reminded them. "Which is why, I expect all of you to vote for Holling here."

"But sir..."

"With him on the ballot, maybe we can get those new monogrammed track suits and boots I've been promising you all since last year." He stated. "Not to mention a steak dinner once we stomp Mariner Bay into the Astroturf!"

There was a huge cheer from the rest of the team as they all patted Jake on the shoulder, before beginning their laps. Jordan just came up to him.

"Well, I guess the coach likes you." Jordan said with a smile. "I think if you win that election, you're a shoe-in for the captain's armband."

"Does it even matter to anyone that I never asked to be part of this election?" Jake asked. Jordan just shrugged, before beginning his laps. Jake sighed in defeat. "Apparently not."

With that, he set off after the rest of the team, beginning his warm-up.

The following two days were relatively quiet. Although the short list hadn't been finalised yet, the other candidates were already making subtle moves to garner support, making promises of what they would do for the students to get a few more votes to end up on the ballot. So far, Jake had heard people promising everything from a large screen TV in the canteen, to valet parking and car wash services for juniors and seniors. It was getting a little wearing.

He also had to feel a little bit of guilt creeping in. While it wasn't as though he was guaranteed a victory, the fact was the coach had already secured about ten percent of the votes for candidacy for him. It didn't matter to the coach that he never even WANTED to take part in the election. All he wanted was someone in the council meetings to ask for perks and freebies for the sports teams. With the whole soccer team effectively being ordered to vote for him, since the candidacy votes were not confidential meaning that the other players likely worried their spots would be in jeopardy if they didn't do as he asked, he was virtually guaranteed one of the spots as a candidate.

He couldn't help feeling guilty, and remembering what Gia said about it being a popularity contest. While some, like Justin, a kid who's dad owned one of the local sports stadiums, and was never shy about reminding everyone how rich he was were only doing it for how it would make them look, some like Emma genuinely wanted the position to do something good for the school and were working hard. On the flip side, he didn't even want the job, and because of the coach, he was going to take the place of one of the kids that would really work towards the campaign.

"Hey Jake, you look deep in thought." Gia told him. "I could hear the gears turning."

Jake didn't laugh though as they made their way towards the science class.

"Jake, is everything alright?" She asked him. Jake just shrugged his shoulders. "Come on, cheer up. It's a field trip!"

"It's a field trip looking at dinosaur bones." Jake reminded her. "I think I'd rather take a nap."

"Well, at least we're getting out of school for a while." Gia told him.

"Come in, come in, and don't dawdle." Mr Burley stated. "Alright students, we're all here..."

"Um...I don't think we are." Noah told them. "Allison..."

"Allison is going on ahead." Mr Burley told them.

"No doubt she didn't want to slum it on a coach with the rest of us." Emma whispered to the others. Jake didn't say anything, instead focusing on Mr Burley.

"Alright class, let's get going." He told them. "Those bones have been waiting for several million years; let's not keep them waiting any longer."

As they left, Jake couldn't help thinking about what Emma had said. It was as they got to the bus, he saw that it was...well, if he was honest, if his parents had got him a car he wouldn't want to be seen riding in it either. It was the old coach they had taken on the last field trip...where they were attacked by the newly awakened Toxic Mutants, only having been patched up. That said, it was still pretty obvious it was more than a little beat up.

"Wait, why are we riding around in this tub?" Jordan asked.

"The athletics department doesn't let us use THEIR coaches." Gia told him. "So we have to ride in this thirty-year-old gas-guzzling piece of crap."

"This think probably has its own ozone hole by now." Emma responded sarcastically as she joined them getting on the coach. As he got to the stairs though, Jake stopped and looked down, noticing something else entirely. There was no stair lift. As he went to the back of the coach to join Jordan, he couldn't help taking a quick glance back. There was no lift there either. It was then that it occurred to him that Allison probably had to take her own car since the school coach didn't have wheelchair access.

"Alright class, while we're making our way there, how about another little science brainteaser?" He asked them. "What do you call a dinosaur with no eyes?"

The students just stared blankly at him.

"Doyouthinkhesawrus!" He rushed out, before starting to chuckle. "What kind of dinosaur..."

"Um...he's not serious is he?" Quinn asked, wrapping her arm around Noah and pulling him in closely.

"He must have been inspired by the comedy show tomorrow." Jordan groaned. "He might love science, but comedy is NOT his strong point."

"Thank God I remembered this." Gia replied, getting out her I-pod and popping in her ear phones, turning on her music. The other Rangers all did the same. They had faced all the worst monsters that Vrak had to throw at them, but Mr Burley's idea of comedy was one thing they could definitely live without.

Meanwhile, on the Warstar ship, Vrak came into the throne room, bowing to Admiral Malkor.

"So, is my new and improved monster nearly ready?" He asked. Vrak just smiled.

"I have provided something that will make him nigh-unbeatable." He told Malkor. He showed him a canister. "Believe me, with this in his possession, we will be the ones to have the last laugh."

Malkor just glared at him.

"I'm sorry...I think I've spent too long around Nojoke." Vrak replied apologetically. "He is kind of...infectious."

"Just...go and prepare him for tomorrow's attack." He replied. "And if there are any more bad jokes, the Rangers won't have to destroy you."

"I understand sire." Vrak replied before leaving.


	19. This is Comedy?

The next morning, the Rangers got to the High School, and were completely unprepared for what they saw. Normally Harwood High's annual start of term fundraiser was usually restricted to a small stage outside in the afternoon, and some acts whose material the principal deemed to be "appropriate" for a school. This year though, it was so much more extensive. In fact, it seemed to be a full-on carnival that took over the whole grounds. There were a few small rides, games stands, food carts...it looked like the new principal had gone all out.

"Welcome to the fundraiser." Mr Burley greeted them as they arrived at the gates, looking around in awe. "The new principal had a look at the plans for the fundraiser and thought they looked a little...lacking, so she made some phone calls."

"Aw man, it just sucks we only have an afternoon." Jake stated. "All this stuff looks so great..."

"Actually she extended the fundraiser to the whole day." Mr Burley told them. "There are no classes today."

"OK, how much do I love this new Principal?" Jordan said with a smile, rubbing his hands together with a childish glee.

"Yeah, she's maximising the time for the fundraiser to bring in money for the sports..."

"Actually Emma, she's changed the distribution of the profits this year." Mr Burley interrupted him. "Thirty percent is going to a local environmental charity that's dedicated to creating community gardens. The remaining seventy percent is being distributed evenly among all the school departments."

"OK, I love this woman." Emma replied.

"We haven't even seen her yet." Gia reminded Emma. "She just spends all day every day cooped up in that office."

"Yeah, well the last guy used the hands-on approach if you remember, and look how that worked out." Troy reminded them. "Who cares if no one ever sees her? If she does stuff like this, I'm all for it."

"I'm going to find Quinn." Noah told them. "Save me a seat by the stage."

"I thought you hated..."

"Yeah, but she'll probably enjoy it!" Noah called back as he ran. Jake just shrugged.

"Wow, if this new principal can get Noah to lighten up, she must be some kind of miracle worker." Jake stated.

"Well the comedy showcase begins at midday." Mr Burley told them.

"Well, until then, let's see what else is going on." Gia replied with a smile. "Cat's going to be sick with jealousy. Maybe it'll ease the sting a little if I win her a bear or something."

As the Rangers all split off, heading in different directions, the principal was watching out of the window of her office. The place was swarming with students, even ones who always arrived late, or as close to the bell as they could possibly manage were piling in nice and early. The benefits of the days of social media she imagined, back when she was in High School, cell phones meant that between calls and texting, news spread quickly. Now that phones had instant internet access, giving them immediate access to things like Twitter...she was sure news of the carnival would get around and encourage the students to pack into the grounds nice and early. That was exactly what she wanted.

She pulled out a device, and turned it on, seeing an energy reading that was slowly building. There was always some form of energy, but the meter was starting to spike above what the normal threshold should be. She took out her cell phone and dialled.

"The aquarium needs cleaning." She stated.

"I'll use the asphalt sponge." The man on the other end answered. "General Edwards. I'm guessing you're the agent..."

"You might want to send some men to Harwood County High." She interrupted him. "The power levels here are spiking."

"I'll be over there with my team shortly." He answered. As he hung up, the principal dialled her phone again.

"I guess our plan is working?" He asked.

"I've narrowed our search." She replied, looking to a stack of folders on her desk. "The event's attracting attention as we predicted. The power levels are increasing. It shouldn't be too much longer before something shows itself. When that happens, I'm sure I'll be able to figure out who they are."

"Keep me in the loop." The man replied, hanging up. The principal put her phone away and turned her attention back to the window.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, one of the food cart workers looked around to make sure that his stand wasn't busy before slipping away and leaving his partner to handle any customers. He ducked around behind a wall, and lit up his cigarette.

As he took his first puff, a long shadow cast over him. He just rolled his eyes.

"For the love of God, can't I have five...?" His words were cut off as a hand clamped around his throat. Vrak picked him up, lifting him completely off the ground with one hand. With a harsh squeeze, he snapped the man's neck, before tossing his body in a dumpster. He pulled out a device, and with a click of the button, he changed form, taking on the appearance of the food vendor he had just killed.

"Thank you for the disguise." He stated, heading back towards the cart, pulling out a bottle. "Now it's time for me to exercise some of my culinary magic."

With that, he went to the corndog cart, and poured some fluid into the batter mixture.

Noah had tracked down Quinn and was walking with her around some of the stands, talking with her when he found Gia by a ring toss game. If the bag next to her was anything to go by, she was doing rather well too. He could see the head of a purple giraffe sticking out, but looking at the bag, he could tell there were others in there too. She threw her last ring, before turning her attention to the corndog in her hand.

"Hey, way to go Gia." Noah said with a smile. "But you don't seem like a teddy bear kind of girl to me."

"No, but it means I'll have something to send Cat." Gia answered with a little giggle. "Say, why don't you try to win Quinn something?"

"Oh...I never play these things." He answered, waving off her comment. "Most of these things are rigged anyway."

"I have a koala, a giraffe, a panda and...what I think is meant to be a monkey that say different." Gia responded with a laugh, poking the bag with her foot. "Go on Noah, loosen up a bit."

"It's just basic geometry and physics." Quinn told him. Noah just smiled and put some money into the box, taking the rings from the man behind the counter.

"OK, what do you want?" He asked. "The best angles for a throw are the lion, the dolphin and the parrot."

"I think that's a shark actually." Quinn corrected him. Noah just smiled.

"The shark it is." He replied, before starting to look around and using his hands to visualise his calculations. Gia just snorted as she continued to laugh and shook her head.

"Only you could take a fun activity and turn it into..." Noah threw his ring and got it around the shark, to a squeal of joy from Quinn. Gia just picked up her bag. "OK, shutting up now. How about we check out the comedy show? The others said they'd save us seats."

As they started to approach the stage, they heard a lot of laughter. People were sitting around, as a man and a woman on the stage ran through their routine. Seeing Emma waving them over, they all sat down.

"It looks like someone's been busy." Emma commented, seeing the bag of soft toys Gia had.

"Hey, I got this on my first try." Noah protested, pointing to the shark Quinn was holding in her arms, with a bright grin across her face, giggling as she took a sip of her slushie.

"This is pointless, this thing is never funny." Noah grumbled.

"That's where you're wrong." Jake told him, looking to Troy and Jordan, who were seeing this for the first time. "This duo do the comedy show every year, but their jokes are so lame, they're hilarious for ALL the wrong reasons."

"But, they're just not funny." Noah reiterated as Quinn started rocking around in her seat in stitches. "Unless you're full of sugar like Quinn obviously is."

"Noah, it's all about just letting go and having fun." Emma told him. "Look, that guy there, he's the straight man. It's his job to..."

"Don't bother explaining the dynamics of teamwork in a comedy duo, I understand it." He told her. "I just don't find them funny."

Emma shrugged and turned back to the show.

"Why is six afraid of seven." The woman asked the man. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because seven ATE nine!" She replied. The audience were laughing loudly as they heard the punch line, many of them spilling food and drink all over the place. Emma, Troy, Jake, Noah and Jordan all just stared blankly.

"And...this is meant to be funny?" Troy asked sceptically.

"Maybe they get better?" Jordan asked as they prepared for another joke.

Elsewhere on the grounds, Sam was making his way around the crowds. He was dressed in a Hawaiian style shirt and combat pants, and wearing a badge identifying himself as events staff. He was carrying a device in his hand, scanning for power signatures, while he spiked trash, putting it into a trash bag.

"Power signatures are pretty high out here." He confirmed into his hidden microphone. Up on a rooftop a little way away, Dave was set up on a sniper's perch with his rifle at the ready.

"I've got the same readings." General Edwards replied from a position by the port a potties where he too was disguised as events staff. He looked around to see the kids running around laughing. He just snorted. "To think, our tax dollars pay for stuff like this."

"I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad it's the two of you down there and not me." Dave replied. "I couldn't stand teenagers even when I was one."

"Man, I'm landed with a pair of old grouches." Sam chuckled. "It's a blast down here."

"Trust me Sam, the funniest thing I see down there is your shirt." He replied, looking through his scope at Sam.

"Wait...I've got a huge power spike." Sam told them, heading towards the stage. "Something's near here, Dave, get ready to cover me!"

As the "comedy" duo finished their routine, the crowd, with the exception of Emma, Troy, Jordan, Jake and Noah were rolling around in their seats. A man in a suit stepped up to the stage as they took their bows.

"Alright, now the last act in the showcase sadly hasn't shown up." The MC stated. "So, since there are no other acts..."

"Given the quality of that last pair, I'd say you didn't have any acts." Jordan stated, raising a few laughs.

"Oh, and you fancy yourself as a comedian do you?" He asked. Jordan just looked to the others.

"Well...you couldn't do any worse than the last pair could you?" Jake asked him.

"Please, him?" Gia laughed loudly. "He's only funny when I'm kicking his butt!"

"So, how about it young man?" The MC asked. "Are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is?"

Jordan realised he had talked himself into a corner, and just got up, heading for the stage. He took the microphone and looked out over the crowd.

"Hey everyone, I'm Jordan..." He started nervously, trying to come up with a joke. He thought of one. "Alright, so one time a man walks into a bar with a dog, and he asks for a beer for him and one for the dog. The barman says 'sorry we don't serve dumb animals in here'."

He saw the audience listening as he paced the stage.

"The customer said 'but my dog's really smart, he can even talk watch.' He looked to the dog, pointed up and said 'what's above us'? 'Roof' the dog barks."

There were some polite chuckles from the audience.

"The barman was having none of it, so he tried again." Jordan continued. "He asked the dog 'if I was to drink fifteen beers, how would I feel tomorrow?' 'RUFF' the dog barked. Finally the barman's had enough and throws both of them out. The dog then looks to his owner and says 'well you screwed that up didn't you?'." Jordan concluded the joke. There was a huge roar of laughter from the crowd, to which Jordan just looked confused.

"OK, that was kind of amusing." Jake chuckled. "But it wasn't THAT funny."

Suddenly, Gia, who was holding her sides as she laughed loudly, started to glow, before turning into a ball of light. Slowly, the others that were laughing all turned into balls of light and started flying up into the air.

"Quinn!" Noah cried out, seeing this. "What...what's going on?"

They watched as all the balls of light flew in the same direction, burning through the curtain. Behind it was an alien that looked a lot like it was modelled after a mosquito, with a thin snout coming out of its face, and dark wings. It was holding a bottle, which opened up and swallowed all the balls of light flying towards it. Jordan leapt backwards off the stage as it stepped forward.

"Not bad human, so the dog actually COULD talk!" He began as the bottle snapped shut. "That joke was pretty good! Thank you for giving me so many of your fellow humans."

"Of course explaining the joke kills it." Jordan responded harshly. "What do you mean I gave you them?"

"My bottle feeds on laughter. Whenever someone laughs, it sucks them up!" He explained. "Once they've been in there for a few hours, they'll have dissolved completely and I'll just drink them all up!"

"He's got Gia and Quinn!" Noah yelled. "Let them go you creep!"

"Oh, well since you asked so nicely, I think my answer will be...NO!" He stated sharply. "You'll find that I am Nojoke...get it?"

"Um...no, not really." Jake answered.

"I think his name is Nojoke." Emma told him.

"And since I am the funniest creature on any planet, I think you'll find yourselves joining your friends before I'm through!" He called out. "Now, I've got to run!"

He flapped his wings, creating a whirlwind that threw all of the Rangers to the ground. As he started to sprint away, the few humans that hadn't been laughing scattered.

"OK, I thought those comedians weren't funny." Noah grumbled. "We have to defeat Nojoke."

"We'll have to find him first." Troy told the others. "If he can make people disappear just by making them laugh..."

"Why were people laughing anyway?" Jordan asked. "Most of those jokes were totally lame!"

"Wait...not everyone disappeared." Emma reminded them. She looked down, seeing the corndog Gia had dropped in her fits of laughter. Looking around, there was a lot of food and drink scattered around. "Did any of you guys eat any of the food?"

"He spiked our food?" Jordan asked. "Man, that guy really needs all the help he can get!"

"Alright, so...did any of us eat here?" Troy asked.

"I wasn't hungry." Noah told them.

"Neither was I." Emma added.

"None of this stuff is Kosher." Jake said with a shrug. "I was going to go for a sandwich in a couple of hours."

"Well, there goes my afternoon of cotton candy and ice cream." Jordan grumbled. "So, what do we do?"

"Try not to laugh." Troy replied honestly.

"Trust me, with that guy's idea of humour...that won't be a problem." Jordan answered as they all ran off in search of the monster.

In her office, the principal was watching events unfolding. She went to the files on her desk and picked out five of them.

"Everyone else runs away from trouble." She commented as she dialled her phone. "Sir, I think I have the lead we were looking for."


	20. No Laughing Matter

A little while later, the Rangers were looking around for Nojoke. They knew that if he was telling the truth, something that they had no reason to doubt, then they didn't have long before Gia and all the other people he was collecting in his bottle would be dissolved into a drink and would be lost to them for good.

They came back together by the library. They had to be relieved that they hadn't lost any more of their team, but at the same time it also meant that none of them had found him yet.

"Man, I never realised how big this campus is." Noah complained. "How hard can it be to find an eight foot mosquito that feeds on laughter at a carnival?"

"He's hiding, so obviously he's still not confident enough to take us all on yet." Troy surmised from their position, looking to Emma. "So, we need to find him, and we need to come up with a plan."

"Why are we standing around here talking about strategy? He has Gia!" Jake protested loudly. "If it were any one of us..."

"She'd be looking, but not until she figured out a way to help us." Emma told him. Although Jake and Gia had come to an understanding months ago that they would never be more than friends, the whole thing combined with all they had been through as Rangers had made them extremely close as friends. They understood and cared about each other on a much deeper level than many people understood. They could all see that Jake was going out of his mind, and was just itching to get his hands on Nojoke. "I want to squash that bug too, but if we don't figure out a plan, we could end up making things worse."

"It's not like we've never been down a Ranger before." Noah reminded him. "But if we come up with a plan, we can..."

"I don't care about plans! I only care about getting Gia back!" Jake told them as he started pacing. He stopped as an idea occurred to him. "Wait...Noah, what you said before..."

"Um...what?" He asked.

"How hard can it be to find a monster that feeds on laughter at a carnival?" Jake reminded them of the question. They all just looked at him. "We don't look for the monster..."

"We follow the laughter." Noah said with a smile, patting the Black Ranger on the shoulder. "And since Vrak's spiked the food with stuff that makes people laugh, people will probably still be laughing, even if they are terrified."

"Alright, everyone fan out." Troy told them. "Look for a large group of people laughing, and wait. Nojoke shouldn't take too long to..."

"Kayfabe." Emma called out, seeing a food vendor coming towards them. Since they had found out about the military tailing them, they had started being a little more careful with their conversations. They would say the word "Kayfabe" whenever someone that wasn't in on their secret was approaching as a signal to end the conversation.

"Sir, can you help us?" Troy asked as he gestured to his friends. "We're hiding from that monster, we're..."

"Why don't you all lighten up?" He asked, interrupting Troy. They all just stared at him.

"Wait...what did you say?" Noah asked. The Rangers all went for their morphers as the vendor turned back into Vrak. Noah and Jordan were the quickest to react, morphing as Vrak pulled out two canisters and threw them at the Rangers. Emma, Jake and Troy all got hit with a thick, white smoke as Noah and Jordan rushed towards Vrak, attacking him. He parried their blows, getting a little room as he looked to them with a grin.

"Well, three is better than nothing." He stated.

"What did you do to them?" Noah demanded as his friends coughed loudly, trying to regain composure.

"I knew I couldn't guarantee everyone would eat all this processed filth these vendors call food." He replied. "That's why I decided to give his routine a little helping hand!"

He activated a device, and as they watched, balloons from numerous stands started to float through the crowd, before exploding, covering the area in smoke. Shortly afterwards, they heard laughter.

"The gas." Jordan rushed out. "It must make people more likely to laugh!"

"Great, that's all we need." Troy spluttered as he, Emma and Jake finally recovered enough to morph. Vrak disappeared, leaving them disorientated.

"So, what do we do now?" Jordan asked.

"More people are laughing, that means more people are in danger." Troy told them. "We have to find Nojoke NOW!"

"But you've been gassed." Jordan reminded him.

"We can't let that stop us." Troy declared. "As long as at least one of us is still in the fight, we have to take him down."

"Right, well I guess at least it'll be easy to find people who are laughing now." Noah remarked. "Come on guys, let's go."

With that, they ran off, searching for Nojoke.

Elsewhere in the school, the gas was spreading out, and was now dissipating to the point it was nothing more than a thin mist. In the crowd, Sam was making his way through as the crowd stumbled around in confusion, drawing his pistol as he looked for signs of the Rangers.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Dave asked through the intercom.

"I don't know, it's some kind of gas." Sam told him. "It doesn't seem to do anything..."

He stumbled across Nojoke, who had returned in full force, taking his routine to the masses. He considered himself quite the comedian, but his interpretation of humour...it definitely left a lot to be desired.

"Time for a dip!" He yelled as he picked up one of the kids, dropping him onto a food cart, shoving him butt first into some hot cheese dip. The helpless victim screamed in pain as he rolled out and ran frantically, looking for some way to stop the scalding heat as others laughed. They quickly turned into balls of light and flew into his bottle, adding more flavours to the mix. He grabbed another kid, at which Sam levelled his pistol at him.

"You, put the kid down!" Sam warned him, cocking the pistol. "I mean it!"

"You're going to shoot me?" Nojoke asked sceptically. "You really think that peashooter will take me down?"

"It sure as hell won't tickle." Sam warned him. Nojoke just dumped the kid on the ground, rounding on Sam.

"Tickle, now...there's an idea." He responded, casting up a pink whirlwind. Sam dropped his pistol as he was picked up into the air. He struggled, but he could feel all his nerve endings being aggravated until he just couldn't help it, and started laughing. The Rangers arrived just in time to see him sucking him into the bottle.

Nojoke just looked to the bottle.

"This will be a nice brew; I can almost taste it already." He stated as he noticed the Rangers arriving. He looked across as the Rangers came into view. "I have to admit, it took longer than I expected for you to turn up."

"Give those people back you freak!" Emma demanded. Nojoke just looked to them and then to the bottle.

"One, two, three, four...five?" He asked. "I've already got one of you!"

Emma just covered her mouth guard.

"Nice going Emma." She muttered. "Let the bad guy know he has one of you."

"Well, that should add an interesting flavour to my brew." He told her. "Now to add some more flavours!"

"It's not going to happen." Troy called out as they rushed to the attack. "None of us finds you funny!"

"Yeah, we didn't eat any of your freaky food." Jake told him.

"Oh, well there's more than one way to get a laugh." He replied as he cast another whirlwind attack. It picked all of the team up, and threw them around, slamming them into several walls, before leaving them laying.

"Sam, SAM!" General Edwards called into his handset as he ran towards the area, pulling an SMG out of a trash bag he was carrying. He cocked it, ready for action. "Dave, do you see that alien?"

"You're only a few yards out." Dave told him. "It's around the corner!"

General Edwards came around the corner as the battle raged on, pulling out his pistol. Dave spoke up over the intercom.

"That thing has Sam!" Dave told him.

"Hold your fire!" General Edwards instructed him. "He also has one of the Rangers. If we get that bottle..."

"He's got SAM!" Dave stated. "Don't you...?"

"I said hold your fire!" General Edwards reiterated. As he watched on, he saw the Pink and Black Rangers falling to Nojoke's claws, de-morphing. "Wait...two of them...look through the scope!"

"What?" He asked.

"Two of them, their identities are exposed!" Edwards replied. "I can't see who they are from here! If we find out who they are..."

Nojoke cast another attack, picking them both up in a whirlwind, this one causing them to laugh uncontrollably.

"The mist...it's too thick!" Dave told him. "I can't see their faces!"

Just then, they both turned into balls of light and flew into Nojoke's bottle.

"We can't let him get any more people!" Noah stated. "Robo Knight..."

"Sea Blast!" They both called out, loading Power Cards into their morphers and sending forth a torrent of water, blasting Nojoke into a wall, pinning him there. As he struggled, he saw one more person in the yard. He could already tell he had gotten pretty much everyone else from the school; it was only the Rangers and this worker. He saw the man and smiled as he picked up a bench, throwing it at Noah and Jordan, sending them both running.

"General Edwards...Vrak told me all about you." He stated, grabbing him and pulling him in close. "I have the best joke of all for you."

He looked to Jordan and smiled, pointing at him.

"You see that one in the armour?" He asked. "That's your precious baby boy."

"Robo Knight is...?" He asked, before starting to chuckle, looking at Robo Knight, who was staring at him. "That...that's Jordan?"

He started laughing uncontrollably, before turning into a ball of light, disappearing into the bottle. Nojoke held up the bottle for Jordan to see.

"Now, that's what you call supportive parenting." He taunted Jordan.

"Don't listen to him Jordan." Noah stated as he called up his Shark Bowgun. "If it wasn't for the gas..."

"Speaking of gas!" Nojoke replied, hunching over. He started to get a strained look on his face. "It's coming...wait for it..."

"He's not serious is he?" Jordan responded. A short time later, he heard it. He just recoiled in disgust. "He farted? Seriously, he FARTED? That's not funny, that's just..."

He paused as he heard a small splutter near him. Both he and Noah looked to Troy, who was visibly shaking, and looked to be struggling.

"He's been gassed, remember?" Noah called out. He instantly wished he hadn't said that. The gas already made Troy more vulnerable to Nojoke's "jokes", he didn't need the help of Noah's inadvertent pun.

"Gassed!" Troy spluttered out. "I'm sorry guys, I can't help it!"

As he started laughing, he too was sucked into the bottle. Nojoke sent forth another whirlwind attack and blasting Jordan and Noah into the school building.

"If you want your friends back, I'll be at the amphitheatre." He called out to them. "I need somewhere fitting for my finale. Be there in an hour if you want your friends back."

As he flew away, Noah and Jordan fired after him, missing him with their blasts. Noah just held up a hand.

"Hold it. He told us where he'd be." Noah told him. "He also told us how long we have."

"An hour's not a long time. We should..."

"Jordan, I've had an idea." Noah told him. "Nojoke thinks of himself as a comedian right?"

"Yeah, some comedian." Jordan snorted.

"Well, haven't you noticed how he's never laughed himself?" Noah asked him. "In fact, he explained your joke to kill it before he first attacked."

"Yeah, that was a pretty good joke too." Jordan responded.

"What if he can't control the bottle?" Noah suggested. "What if the reason he doesn't laugh...?"

"I like the way you think." Jordan replied with a smirk. "Hoist by his own petard."

"Shakespeare?" Noah asked.

"OK, my dad I expect that kind of reaction from." Jordan told him. "In the meantime, what say we take some time to figure out a routine?"

On a rooftop nearby, Dave was looking around, finding that the entire schoolyard was now clear. He heard something over his headset.

"Edwards...Edwards!" A female voice called out. "Report!"

"He's gone." Dave stated. "The alien took him and Sam control."

"Return to base..."

"The only reason they're gone is because Edwards ordered me not to fire!" Dave protested angrily. "Because of him..."

"Remember your mission." The female voice stated. "Return..."

"You know what? Court Martial me." Dave stated. "I'm going to the Amphitheatre."

Before the female voice could protest, he pulled out his earpiece, tossing it on the ground and crushing it under his heel. He snatched up his sniper rifle and ran off.

Meanwhile, in the office, the Principal recoiled from the feedback from her communicator as Dave destroyed it, severing the connection. She then dialled her cell phone.

"Sir, you asked me to call." She began. "Things have gotten a little...chaotic."

"And the Rangers?" The voice on the other end asked. She smiled.

"They're taking their lumps, but they're still in the fight." She answered with a smile. "I'll send you all the information you asked for."

"You got it already?" He asked.

"Did you ever doubt me?" She chuckled as she hit a few keys on her keyboard. "The surveillance system I set up should have given you everything you need."

"Thanks." The voice on the other end stated. "I knew I could count on you."

"Just remember what you promised me." She answered as she hung up.

Over at the amphitheatre, Nojoke was sitting, waiting on the Blue Ranger and Robo Knight coming for their friends. He didn't doubt that they would, and while he knew that before, he had the benefit of Vrak's assistance, he now only had two of them to deal with.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show up." Nojoke stated as Jordan appeared on the stage. "I was beginning to wonder if you really cared about your friends."

"Give it up Nojoke." Jordan said as he took centre stage. "Neither of us was affected by Vrak's tricks. Give us the bottle and leave with your life."

"I will admit, Vrak's chemicals do make it easier, but so much less satisfying." He responded. "With those chemicals, people would laugh if I read the phone book. This way, I get to really try out my comic genius."

"If you're so confident you're funny, how about we try a little something?" Noah asked him. "So one time there's this guy and he's sitting on a plane next to a parrot."

"Really? You're going to have the straight man tell the joke?" Nojoke sighed, settling back in his seat. "Alright, go ahead."

"The stewardess comes and asks if he wants a drink." Noah continued, keeping an eye on Jordan. "He says, I'd like a..."

"Whisky NOW BITCH!" Jordan rushed out. "The parrot yelled. The Stewardess looks flustered and walks away, brings the parrot a whisky and leaves the man without a drink."

Nojoke just looked bored.

"A while later, the man presses the call button." Noah carried on. "He says, I'd like a..."

"Whisky NOW BITCH!" Jordan blurted out again. "Again, the Stewardess looks flustered and walks away, brings the parrot a whisky and leaves the man without a drink."

Nojoke just yawned and waved for them to continue.

"So, by now the man's pissed. He mashes on the call button. When the stewardess returns, he yells at her." Noah stated. "I want a whisky, and I want it NOW BITCH! The stewardess looks annoyed and leaves, heading for the cockpit. A minute later, the pilot and co-pilot come out of the cockpit. They grab the man and the parrot and throw them out of the plane. As they were hurtling towards the ground, the parrot says..."

"You know for someone that can't fly, you've got a really big mouth!" Jordan concluded.

"And?" Nojoke asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was the punch line?"

"Man, I was sure that would work!" Jordan protested.

"Really, you thought he would laugh at that?" Noah yelled.

"Well, I didn't see you coming up with anything any better!" Jordan protested.

"It looks like we do this the old fashioned way." Jordan responded, pulling out his Robo Blade. "Screw the fancy plans!"

As they ran to the attack, both of them got caught up in another blast of Nojoke's tickle wind. It took quite a while because of their suits, but eventually both of them started laughing. Nojoke smiled with glee as he saw them both turn into balls of light and fly into his bottle.

"Yes! Yes, I did it!" He cackled insanely. "I...I caught all of the Rangers!"

He started to howl with laughter, only after a moment, he felt a force pulling on him. Too late, he realised that the bottle was drawing him in.

"No, they...they tricked me!" He screamed as he tried to resist the pull of the bottle. Dave arrived as Nojoke grabbed a pillar, struggling to keep himself being pulled into the bottle. He levelled his sniper rifle at him.

"Edwards was an idiot, there's no way we can handle scum like you without the Rangers!" He snarled. He adjusted his aim, this time aiming for the bottle. He fired his shot, shattering the bottle. As it shattered, in a bright flash of light, everyone that Nojoke had captured reappeared. The Rangers were already morphed, ready for battle. The rest of the captives wasted no time in fleeing the scene.

"What the...?"

"Thank Tensou later." Noah interrupted Gia. "This whole thing was his idea."

"You find humour in people getting hurt!" Jordan called out. "The thing you forgot is we humans are willing to sacrifice ourselves for our friends!"

"You...you set me up!" Nojoke screamed. "That's not funny!"

"Aw...are you not having any fun?" Gia asked him. "Well, things are only going to get worse. Ultra Mode Activate!"

He watched in horror as the Ultra Mode armour formed up around them. He held up his hands, starting to plead with them as he saw them advancing.

"Please...please let's not do anything hasty." He started to babble out in a pathetic plea. "I mean...it wasn't...I mean...they were only jokes! Humour should over-ride everything! I was only joking!"

"Well, you forgot the first rule of comedy." Troy told him.

"Ultra Power Dynamic Strike!" They all called out together, launching their beam.

"Knight Dynamic!" Jordan added, firing his Vulcan cannon. As the beam struck Nojoke, he staggered back a few paces, sparking as he looked up to the Rangers.

"That's...that's not..." He pitched over backwards and hit the ground, exploding. As the Rangers all formed up, Troy just smiled.

"Timing." He stated. The others looked at him. "What?"

"Really Troy?" Noah asked.

"What, it's funny!" He protested.

"So says the guy that laughs at farts." Jordan chuckled, slapping him upside the head.

"Guys...we can rip on Troy all we want later." Gia stated as she saw Zombats. Jake started giggling. "What now?"

"Let rip?" Jake giggled.

"I'm going to be so glad when we're done with this guy." Emma groaned as they reached for their morphers to call the Megazords.


	21. The End, and that's Nojoke!

The Principal stood by the window, watching as the Rangers summoned their Megazords, and spared little time dragging Nojoke as far from the school as they could safely in order to keep the battle restricted to somewhere safe. She didn't even look around as the door opened behind her.

"You're quicker than I expected." She stated.

"I knew it wouldn't take you long to get things under control." The new arrival stated, looking out the window. "So, have you heard from Edwards?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure it'll not be long." She responded. "So, what did the boss have to say?"

"We're making our move tonight." He replied, taking out a document and handing it to her. "The boss said your report gave him all he needed. Just like he promised, here's your new assignment."

"Perfect." She replied with a smile.

Over at the battle ground, the Rangers had formed up the Megazord, while Jordan had brought along the Knight Brothers Megazord. Nojoke faced off against them, powering up an attack.

"Here, hope you don't find this too 'shocking'." He yelled, firing a lightning blast at Jordan's Zord. He anchored himself for impact, taking the charge full on as the other Rangers made their move.

They brought down the Dragon Sword, which Nojoke swatted away, before blasting them into a mountain with his wind blast. They all struggled to regain control.

"We need to do something about these wind attacks." Gia snarled, mashing a fist into the control console. "Troy, Emma, you guys are the wind Rangers..."

"Don't mention wind around Troy." Jake chuckled. Gia just glared at him, at which he held his hands up. "OK, I'm shutting up now!"

"His wind attacks seem to come from..."

"His butt?" Jake asked. He was struck on the back of the head. "HEY!"

"Thanks Noah." Emma replied, continuing with what she was saying. "His wind attacks seem to come from his wings...if a bug's wings get wet, if they get weighed down too much..."

"I've got an idea." Troy rushed out. "Noah, call the Sea Brothers! Jordan, buy us a few minutes!"

"Alright, you guys just enjoy your little conference over there." He grumbled as he grappled with Nojoke. "It's no problem really, take all the time you need!"

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit you know!" Nojoke replied as he struggled with him, scoring some hits and damaging the Knight Brother's Megazord with his claws. Jordan struggled to stay in close to avoid the wind attack.

Converting to the Sea Brothers Megazord, Noah channelled the energy of his sea power through the Saw Shark arm, twirling it in the air to create a massive column of water.

"Make it big Noah." Troy instructed him.

"It's as big as I can control." Noah assured him. "Troy?"

"It'll have to do." Troy responded. "Jake, if you don't want a shower, get out of there now!"

As Jordan shoved Nojoke away and created space, Noah brought the column of water down, completely saturating Nojoke. He got up as Jordan rejoined his team mates, the damage on the front of his Zord showing.

"I really hope this was worth it." Jordan told them. "The self-repair in the armour is going haywire!"

As Nojoke brought his wings back to flap, he struggled with the weight as water dripped from them. There was no force behind it, and his winds had been reduced to a mild breeze. He started screaming in frustration.

"Alright guys, before he has a chance to recover." Troy announced. "Leave him to us Jordan, you've done enough."

"Victory Charge!" The Rangers all called out together. They struck Nojoke with a deadly energy attack, cutting him down. He hit the ground and exploded, heralding yet another victory for the Rangers.

As they finally got back to the school, they found that everyone had been returned to normal. The atmosphere was a lot more subdued, but it seemed like the kids were getting back into the swing of things. They had been expecting the carnival to be cancelled after the attack, but since it was a fund raiser, the kids seemed to have adopted the spirit that having some fun after the attack and raising some funds for the school until they went home would be the best way to recover from everything.

"Wow, this...I'm not sure how to take this." Jordan responded, looking around. "Am I the only one bothered by the fact pretty much nobody's noticed that we were gone?"

"I just like to think it means we're getting better at the whole secret identity thing." Troy said with a shrug. Noah brightened up as he saw Quinn running towards him, grabbing him in a tight hug.

"Noah, I was so worried!" She shrieked, squeezing him in a surprisingly powerful grip that threatened to break bones. "Where did you go when you came out of that freak's bottle? I couldn't see you when we ran..."

"Uh...I must have gone the other way." Noah lied with surprising ease. "It was chaos, I was looking for you, but with the Rangers and the monster and everything...I could only hope you got away safely."

She dragged him away, while Gia started looking around.

"Well, I just have to find the lost and found." Gia told them. "I dropped the bag of toys I won for Cat, I just hope no one..."

"Gia, I believe this is yours." Mr Burley stated as he arrived, handing Gia a bag. She looked inside, seeing all the soft toys she had won.

"Mr Burley, I don't know what to..."

"The new Principal asked me to give these to you." He interrupted her. "She said she thought you'd appreciate getting them back."

"I thought someone would have taken them for sure." Gia stated, looking completely relieved. "Thank you."

"Well, everyone's parents have been called, so they should be here shortly." Mr Burley told them. "So in the meantime, make the most of the carnival."

"It kind of sucks that the carnival was interrupted." Emma sighed. "Still, I guess the school made some money."

"I'm just bummed I didn't get to finish my routine." Jordan grumbled. "I had a ton of jokes left."

"Well, everything turned out for the best." Troy announced. "Come on Emma, I'm in the mood for a melon smoothie."

"Say guys, why can melons only get married in their home town." Jordan rushed out as they started to head for the juice stand. They all just looked at him and shrugged. "Because they CANTELOUPE!"

They all just glared at him.

"Get it?" He asked. "They CAN'T ELOPE!"

"Jordan..."

"How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?" He asked. "One...but it has to really, really want to change!"

The Rangers all just looked at each other.

"Seriously?" Jake asked. "After all that?"

"OK, here's one..."

"Get him!" Gia responded, at which they all turned on Jordan, seeing the look in their eyes, he took the hint that it was time to run, with his friends in hot pursuit. They had all had their fill of bad jokes for the day.

Over at the Edwards house, Dave and Sam were sitting on the couch as General Edwards paced back and forwards, ranting and raving.

"Do you IDIOTS have any idea what this means?" He yelled. "I've got Washington breathing down my neck, looking for results...and THIS is what you give me?"

"General, it's not like I exactly planned to get captured." Sam told him.

"Neither did you I bet." Dave said sarcastically. "By the way, you're welcome for the rescue by the way."

"I think you're forgetting what I've done for both of you." Edwards growled. "I fished both of you from the ass end of nowhere for this, and you repay me by..."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"It's probably just another damned salesman." He grumbled. "Go and get rid of him will you Dave?"

As Dave went to get the door, he continued to pace.

A moment later, Dave came back.

"Uh sir..."

"What is it now?" He demanded. Dave just pointed to two people standing behind him. One of them was a tall, well-built white man, with short, dark hair, and dark glasses, wearing a black suit and tie. The other was an Asian woman around the same age, wearing a dark suit, with no tie, and a Buddhist amulet around her neck. "I thought I told you to get rid..."

"That wouldn't be advisable." The man stated as they both pulled out badges. "I'm agent Scott; this is Agent Kwann, Secret Service..."

"Agent Kwann?" He asked, looking to the woman. "What are you doing here? I was expecting your call for my report..."

"I think I've seen all I need to from the school office." She told him as Agent Scott approached him, taking off his sunglasses. He pulled out a document, handing it to Andrews.

"Your little dog and pony show down here has gotten a lot of people in Government more than a little upset." He stated. "You've brought an unhealthy amount of attention to yourselves as of late, and we're now sick of cleaning up after you."

"Cease and desist?" Edwards roared, looking to the document in disgust. "You're shutting us down?"

"Operation Knightfall's become an embarrassment. It's more trouble than it's worth." Agent Scott declared. "The Rangers may cause some concerns, but going after them has caused nothing but chaos. For now, we're just going to observe to decide if we have to intervene, but unless they prove otherwise, the Rangers have to be left untouched."

"Your lab team's already been reassigned." Agent Kwann told him. "Your equipment's been seized and returned to DC. As for you three..."

She handed a document to Sam.

"The Government has elected not to pursue charges, and we're not going to tarnish your chances of future employment with a dishonourable discharge." She informed him. "This is your discharge papers. Whatever you do from now on is up to you, but you won't be doing it with the military. Needless to say we're expecting you to observe National Security..."

"With pleasure." Sam replied, taking the document gratefully. The charges he was facing would have landed him in jail for some time, and he had taken the assignment with Edwards to avoid that. Now, he was being given a literal get out of jail free card, which was what he wanted in the first place. He didn't mind having to leave the military as a result.

"As for you." Agent Scott told Dave, handing him a document. "Your actions today, while technically disobeying a direct order saved the city. We've decided to rescind your disciplinary record. You're being reassigned to Delta Force, your plane leaves in six hours for your new assignment."

"Is there an earlier flight?" He asked, looking to Edwards in disgust, taking his orders. Both Dave and Sam left without further word, leaving Edwards alone.

"You can't do this!" He protested. "I was given this assignment by..."

"Our orders come from higher up." Agent Scott assured him, tapping a pin on his lapel. "As far as you're concerned, this comes direct from the Commander in Chief himself."

Agent Kwann handed him another document.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Your assignment." She told him. "It's been decided that you could use a little break. We've assigned you to a sabbatical."

"WHAT?" He screamed in disbelief. "You're benching me? How long for?"

"As long as we damn well please." Agent Scott told him. "It's a paid vacation, take it and shut the hell up."

"No, this...this is ridiculous, I was meant to...what the hell am I meant to do?" He stammered out. Agent Kwann just shrugged.

"Maybe spend some time at home with your son?" She asked. "It's just a thought."

As they left, he grabbed his coffee table and overturned it in a fit of rage, scattering everything that was on it. He was so close, this assignment was meant to be the feather in his cap, the highlight of a career he was hoping would one day lead him to the Oval Office. Now though, it was like he was being shoved in a corner out of sight. His anger burned inside him. This was an embarrassing setback that had cost him a lot of time and favour in Washington. Now, he was expected to just sit at home and wait until those that were now pulling HIS strings decided to let him back into the game.

Later, Troy and Emma came into Ernie's Brainfreeze, finding Noah, Jake, Jordan and Gia waiting. Ernie was just closing up for the night when they arrived. Now that they knew that Ernie was in on their secret, he had no problems letting them hang around while he was closing up.

"So guys, what's the big deal?" Troy asked. "What was so important it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"Wait, you didn't text us?" Noah asked. "We thought that text was from you."

"So...none of you texted me to meet here urgently?" Troy asked. They all shook their heads.

"That message was from us." A voice came from behind them. In the doorway, Agent Scott and Agent Kwann were just entering.

"I'm sorry, I'm just closing..."

"Secret Service." Agent Scott declared, showing them his badge. Agent Kwann did the same. "Can we get some cappuccinos and some privacy?"

"Gia, you remember how to work the coffee machine." Ernie told her, not knowing what to think, seeing members of the Secret Service in his humble ice cream shop. "I'll just be in the apartment upstairs."

As he left, Gia went to make the coffees, and Agent Kwann locked the door. Troy looked to the others and then to the agents with a gulp as he tried to summon up all the confidence he could.

"Um...what can we help you with?" He asked.

"Troy Burrows right?" Agent Scott asked, taking off his shades as Gia started making the coffees. "Or should I say...Red Ranger."

Troy and the others all looked completely dumbfounded.

"Um...what?" Jordan asked, forcing a smile. "You think that guy's a Ranger? I think someone's been..."

"Jordan Hilary Edwards, 17 years old, born in London Arizona, Robo Knight." Agent Scott told him. "Also known as the Robo Knight."

He then looked to Jake.

"Jake Harold Hollings, 17, Born Harwood County, Black Ranger. Noah Isaac Carver, 17, Born Harwood County, Blue Ranger. Gia Lynne Moran, 17, Born Harwood County, Yellow Ranger, and Emma Serenity Goodall, 17, Born Harwood County, Megaforce Pink Ranger."

He looked to Agent Kwann.

"Did I miss anyone?" He asked.

"No, I think that's it." She replied.

"OK, I don't know what..."

"My name is Jason Lee Scott." He introduced himself, pulling out his Dino Morpher. "This is Trini Kwann, and we have a lot more in common than you know."

"This...I've seen this." Troy stated, seeing the morpher. He thought back, remembering a belt buckle... "You...you're..."

"We're the original Red and Yellow Rangers." Trini confirmed.

"Wait...if you're with the government..."

"The guys that were after you are in a different branch." Jason told them. "But we've got them off your back. Operation Knightfall has been officially disbanded."

"Operation Knightfall?" Jordan asked. "You mean...that's what those guys wanted with us?"

"Some people in the government were more than a little nervous about you all." Trini told them. "But, we believe you've just...had some rough edges to smooth out. Seeing that battle today, we think you didn't do too badly."

"For a bunch of rookies that is." Jason assured them. "You'll still be monitored, but your identities will only be known to a few of us. Your lives won't be impeded in any way...as long as you all behave yourselves. You don't need to worry about those goons anymore."

"How..."

"You have some friends in very high places." He stated as he tapped the pin on his lapel. Jordan inspected it and his face lit up.

"A presidential...the president knows..."

"Like I said, you have friends in high places." Jason reiterated. "Just...don't go shooting your mouth off about the fact."

"My new assignment is to continue as your new Principal." Trini told them. "I'll just make sure things at the school are as simple as we can make them. In addition to giving you these."

She handed each of them a key.

"That's a key to the old boiler room in the basement." She told them. "I've had some equipment put in there. You'll have plenty of room to train there, not to mention a lot more privacy."

"It was Trini's condition for taking this job." Jason told them as Gia handed him a cappuccino. "Not bad kid."

"So...this..."

"We just wanted you to know that not everyone's out to get you." Trini told them. "Now, I guess I'll see you all Monday. I expect you all to create a good example."

"Until then, keep up the good work." Jason stated with a smile, putting down his coffee. "Oh, and Troy?"

"Yeah?" Troy asked.

"You've got some big shoes to fill." He said with a smile. "Make sure the Reds keep looking good out there."

"I'll do my best." Troy answered as Trini and Jason left. It took a while before what they had heard could sink in.

"Um...wow." Gia commented. "Did they just say...?"

"We've been endorsed by the FREAKING PRESIDENT!" Jordan squealed excitedly.

As they walked along the street, Jason dialled his phone.

"The message has been delivered." He stated.

"So what are they like?" The man on the other end asked.

"They're definitely not like the teenagers I remember." Jason answered honestly. "But they seem like a good bunch of kids."

"Tell Trini to keep an eye out for them." The man on the end of the phone stated.

"I will Mr President." Jason replied. "I'll be in DC tomorrow. We'll shoot some hoops or something."

In the Oval Office, the president hung up the phone. He was a black man, around the same age, with short hair, and missing the middle finger on his left hand. He had a bright smile as he put down the phone and opened a drawer, pulling out a picture in a frame. It showed the original team, all posing in their uniforms. Leaning back in his chair and crossing his feet on the desk, the President just smiled. He could never have believed when he was in that picture the path his life would take. If it wasn't for the Peace Conference, he would never have considered a career in politics. It had been a long time since he had morphed himself, but for Zack Taylor, it just meant that now, all these years later, he could make life a little easier for the current team.

"Once a Ranger, always a Ranger." Zack said as he put the picture away and clasped his hands behind his head in a casual manner.

Fin.

**A/N:** Did anyone see that coming? I just wanted to wrap up this story, but another will be starting very soon. I had seriously considered skipping Nojoke altogether, but I ended up just gritting my teeth and getting through all the terrible jokes. I just hoped the little reveal at the end would help take the edge off all the "humour". Hope you all enjoyed it.


End file.
